Solar winds stripped Mars' atmosphere

NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft has observed the direct impact of a solar storm on Mars' atmosphere, showing that solar particles energised gases in the upper atmosphere, causing them to blast into space - stripping the planet of its once-thick, water-rich atmosphere
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MAVEN SPACECRAFT
Launch weight: 2,550kg
High-gain antenna: Diameter 2.1m
Magnetometer boom
Articulated payload platform
“Gull-wing” solar array
LPW* boom

*Langmuir Probe and Waves
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Mars at launch
Launch Nov 2013
Sun
Earth orbit
MAVEN orbit
Arrival Sep 2014
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INSTRUMENTS
Particles and Fields Package Six sensors for studying solar wind,Martian ionosphere and magnetic field
Remote Sensing PackageMeasures global characteristics ofupper atmosphere and ionosphere
Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer: Measurescomposition of upper atmosphere
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EARLY MARS
Solar wind Magnetic field
Warmer planetary core generates stronger magnetic field, protecting atmosphere from solar wind
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MARS ATMOSPHERE LOSS
Atmosphere Solar wind
Decline of magnetic field due to core cooling. Atmosphere slowly stripped away by solar wind
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Source: NASA Picture: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre

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