Yesterday we reported on NASA’s new analysis of the rocks of Mars to test the theory that carbon sequestration accounted for the loss of much of the planet’s atmosphere (it appears that it didn’t).
Today, we look at the space agency’s mission at the other end of the scale – the MAVEN spacecraft which is orbiting high above the thin Martian skies to determine how Mars lost its early atmosphere, and with it, its water.
MAVEN is looking for subtle changes in their colour of the stars for clues, as the NASA video above explains.
Previous reports on MAVEN’s mission can be found here.
Originally published by Cosmos as What the stars can tell us about Mars’ past
Bill Condie
Bill Condie is a science journalist based in Adelaide, Australia.
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