Overview

• NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft has, for the first time, directly observed atmospheric sputtering on Mars, where energetic solar wind ions knock atmospheric atoms into space.
• The finding was enabled by simultaneous low-altitude measurements from MAVEN’s Solar Wind Ion Analyzer, Magnetometer and Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer on both the dayside and nightside.
• Researchers determined that sputtering occurs at rates up to four times higher than previous predictions and intensifies during solar storms.
• This direct observation confirms sputtering as a primary driver of Mars’ atmospheric erosion and the loss of surface water after the planet’s global magnetic field vanished.
• Published in Science Advances, the results refine models of Mars’ climate evolution and offer insights into atmospheric loss processes on other planets.