NASA’s MAVEN mission has directly observed the elusive atmospheric escape process of sputtering, shedding light on the history of water loss on Mars. For decades, scientists have wondered where the water went and why it disappeared from the Martian surface billions of years ago.
Sputtering occurs when atoms are knocked out of the atmosphere by energetic charge particles, similar to a cannonball splashing neutral atoms and molecules out of a pool. The MAVEN spacecraft’s instruments detected sputtering in real-time, allowing scientists to create a new map of the process.
The direct observation confirms that sputtering was a primary source of atmospheric loss on Mars during its early history, when the Sun’s activity was stronger. This finding is crucial for understanding how liquid water existed on the Martian surface and its implications for habitability.
The MAVEN mission has revealed that sputtering happens at a rate four times higher than previously predicted, with an increase in solar storms. The discovery provides new insights into the conditions that allowed life to exist on Mars billions of years ago.
Source: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/maven/nasas-maven-makes-first-observation-of-atmospheric-sputtering-at-mars