NASA revealed the fate of the atmosphere on Mars – Lenta.ru

NASA scientists presented data from four new studies of the Martian atmosphere, written on the basis of the probe MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution – the evolution of the atmosphere and volatiles on Mars). On the new discoveries about the “fate of the atmosphere” of the Red Planet, announced by NASA on Nov. 4, 2015, reported in the journal Science.

The measurements were made in the upper atmosphere of Mars have shown that the escape velocity of the ions increases during solar flares . March 8, 2015, during a powerful coronal mass ejections on the Sun, tools MAVEN fixed Faraday effect (magnetic rotation of the polarization plane) is pulled into space in the form of a curl height of five thousand kilometers. When the effects of emission reached Mars on these curls in large quantities ran planetary ions, mainly O _{2 +} and CO _{2 +} . Since the early history of the solar system, coronal mass ejections occurred much more frequently, so now that this phenomenon indicates the probable cause of the loss of the planet of its atmosphere.

15:51 29 September 2015

The authors of the second study reported on MAVEN immersed in the thermosphere and ionosphere of the planet. There probe detected a mix of carbon dioxide, argon, and nitrogen dioxide as well as an unusually large amount of oxygen. The density of these elements to a height of 200 kilometers during each of the dives provides various that may be caused by the interaction of gravitational waves and the wind.

In addition, scientists have talked about recently seen on Mars at an altitude of 60 kilometers glow. In their view, it is not inherently different from auroras on Earth – only on Mars, this phenomenon is not caused by the magnetic poles, and the residual magnetic field of the planet’s crust. As a result, “Martian Lights” is more dispersed and evenly distributed in the atmosphere.

It is also analyzed the distribution of Astrophysics of dust particles at different altitudes (from 150 to 1,000 kilometers). None of the natural processes occurring on the surface of the planet, is not able to raise dust on a height. According to scientists, MAVEN spotted dust interplanetary origin.

In addition, in the journal Geophysical Review Letter happened as much as 44 articles that raise a small, but important for the science questions that could be answered through data from MAVEN.