MAVEN

Chemical reactions high in Mars’ atmosphere rip apart water molecules 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- November 21, 2020
The process, which takes four hours on average, helps explain why Mars loses water so fast

By David Aragorn
NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft Tracks Massive Water Loss From Ancient Mars 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- November 14, 2020
Dust storms triggered the loss of massive amounts of water from high in Mars’ atmosphere, according to new analysis of data collected by NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. For the first time, water has been tracked all the way into Mars’ upper atmosphere, say the authors of a new paper appearing in the journal Science.

By David Aragorn
Mars becomes Planet Hulk in eerie nightglow animation of UV-emitting atmospheric phenomenon 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 15, 2020
If ever there might be a suitable world that Marvel’s Jade Giant might want to settle down on, it’s this spooky, green-tinted rendering of Mars’ nightside atmosphere delivered by the enterprising folks at NASA.

By David Aragorn
MAVEN Detects Sporadic ‘Layers’ and ‘Rifts’ in Martian Ionosphere 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- February 5, 2020
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft has detected sporadic ‘layers’ and ‘rifts’ in the ionosphere — the electrically charged part of the upper atmosphere — of Mars.

By David Aragorn
NASA’s MAVEN probe shows how wind circulates in Mars’ upper atmosphere 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- December 13, 2019
High above the surface of Mars, winds circulate from dayside to night, and the air undulates as it passes over mountains and valleys far below, a new study shows.

By David Aragorn
Mars Terraforming is Not Possible Using Currently Available Technology, Researchers Say 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 2, 2018
On Mars, the atmospheric pressure is around 0.6% of Earth’s. Any liquid water on the surface would very quickly evaporate or freeze. One of the challenges of terraforming the Red Planet is to increase its atmospheric pressure. The Martian polar caps, minerals, and soil could all provide sources of carbon dioxide and water to thicken the atmosphere. But a new study in the journal Nature Astronomy finds that processing all sources available on the planet would only increase the pressure to about 7% that of Earth, far short of what is needed.

By David Aragorn
Martian Dust Storms Linked to Atmospheric Gas Escape 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- February 1, 2018
Martian dust storms play a role in the ongoing process of gas escaping from the top of the planet’s atmosphere, according to a new study using observations by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

By David Aragorn
NASA’s MAVEN mission finds Mars has a twisted magnetic tail 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- October 24, 2017
Mars has an invisible magnetic ‘tail’ that is twisted by interaction with the solar wind, according to new research using data from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft.

By David Aragorn
NASA: Recent Solar Storm Sparked Global Aurora on Mars 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- October 13, 2017
A solar event on September 11, 2017 sparked a global aurora on the Red Planet more than 25 times brighter than any previously seen by NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft. The event also produced radiation levels on the Martian surface more than double any previously measured by NASA’s Curiosity rover.

By David Aragorn
MAJOR SPACE WEATHER EVENT ON MARS 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- October 6, 2017
More than 150 years after it happened, scientists are still taking about the Carrington Event—a solar storm in Sept. 1859 that sparked Northern Lights as far south as Cuba and sprayed the entire surface of Earth with high energy radiation.

By David Aragorn