Tag Archives: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN

How much atmosphere has Mars lost?

A key tracer used to estimate how much atmosphere Mars lost can change depending on the time of day and the surface temperature on the Red Planet, according to new observations by NASA-funded scientists. Previous measurements of this tracer – … Continue reading

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MAVEN: Solar conjunction coming

The MAVEN operations and navigation teams are preparing for Mars solar conjunction, when the Sun is lined up almost directly between Earth and Mars: https://go.nasa.gov/2OOZQhy. This year, Mars solar conjunction will happen between Aug. 28 – Sept. 7. Due to … Continue reading

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MAVEN webinar: Getting cozy with Mars

The MAVEN spacecraft has successfully completed an aerobraking campaign, lowering the highest altitude of the satellite’s orbit to better transmit data from present and future Martian rovers and landers, while continuing its observations of the Martian atmosphere. In this MAVEN … Continue reading

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New model for martian crustal magnetism

[Editor’s note: From a paper by Benoit Langlais and four co-authors recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] A New Model of the Crustal Magnetic Field of Mars Using MGS and MAVEN • MGS and MAVEN magnetic field measurements … Continue reading

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MAVEN completes orbit change for Mars 2020

MAVEN has achieved a tighter orbit around Mars to act as a telecommunications relay. The two-month campaign began February 11 and ended April 5. MAVEN’s navigation team slowed the spacecraft down gradually by aerobraking, a process taking advantage of the … Continue reading

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MAVEN: The magnetic tail of Mars

In this MAVEN outreach webinar from March 27, 2019, Dr. Gina DiBraccio from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center describes what makes the Martian magnetic environment so different from other planets, and how processes in its magnetotail may contribute to atmospheric … Continue reading

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MAVEN: High solar wind pressure hastens loss of atmosphere

New MAVEN research shows that high solar wind pressure influences Mars’ magnetic fields in ways that can increase the global loss of atmosphere to space. Planetary atmospheres are constantly bombarded by energy and radiation from the Sun, and over time … Continue reading

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MAVEN: Aerobraking to lower the orbit

The MAVEN spacecraft today [March 7] performed an aerobraking maneuver (with a 0.2 m/s ∆V) to decrease the periapsis, or lowest, altitude by 1.2 km. MAVEN’s periapsis altitude is now 125.5 km above the surface of Mars and the apoapsis, … Continue reading

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MAVEN: Shrinking its orbit to prepare for Mars 2020 rover

The 4-year-old atmosphere-sniffing MAVEN mission is embarking on a new campaign today to tighten its orbit around Mars. The operation will reduce the highest point of the MAVEN spacecraft’s elliptical orbit from 3,850 to 2,800 miles (6,200 to 4,500 kilometers) … Continue reading

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Magnetic Mars engages lay audiences in science

For a cold little planet, Mars remains a hot topic: The general public wants to know more about this alien world and hear from the scientists who study it. Recent findings that highlight tantalizing clues to Mars’s wetter past have … Continue reading

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