Latest news with #MarsExplorationProgram
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
NASA spots sputtering for first time, cracks Mars' lost atmosphere mystery
Mars just gave up one of its oldest secrets — and it took a decade, a spacecraft, and a cosmic cannonball to catch it in the act. For the first time, NASA's MAVEN mission has directly observed a process called sputtering, an elusive atmospheric escape mechanism where energetic charged particles from the solar wind slam into the Martian atmosphere, knocking atoms into space. This violent interaction may be a key reason why Mars lost its thick atmosphere and, with it, the ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. The breakthrough marks a major milestone for MAVEN, a mission under NASA's Mars Exploration Program dedicated to uncovering how the Red Planet lost its atmosphere. While scientists had long suspected the process played a role in the Red Planet's atmospheric erosion, they lacked concrete evidence. 'It's like doing a cannonball in a pool,' said Shannon Curry, principal investigator of MAVEN at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder and lead author of the study in a release. 'The cannonball, in this case, is the heavy ions crashing into the atmosphere really fast and splashing neutral atoms and molecules out.' Previous findings—like the imbalance between lighter and heavier argon isotopes in Mars' atmosphere—offered only indirect clues, pointing to sputtering's fingerprints without capturing the act itself. Since lighter isotopes naturally reside higher in the atmosphere, their scarcity compared to heavier ones strongly suggested they had been knocked away into space. And the only known process capable of selectively removing these lighter isotopes is sputtering. 'It is like we found the ashes from a campfire,' said Curry. 'But we wanted to see the actual fire, in this case sputtering, directly.' Now, using data from three instruments aboard MAVEN—the Solar Wind Ion Analyzer, the Magnetometer, and the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer—researchers have, for the first time, captured sputtering in action. Additionally, the team needed measurements across the dayside and the nightside of the planet at low altitudes, which takes years to observe. By combining data from three of MAVEN's instruments, scientists created the first detailed map linking sputtered argon to incoming solar wind. The map showed argon atoms high in the Martian atmosphere, precisely where energetic particles had slammed into it—clear, real-time evidence of sputtering in action. Even more striking, the process was occurring at a rate four times higher than expected, with activity intensifying during solar storms. This direct observation confirms that sputtering was a major driver of atmospheric loss during Mars' early years, when the young Sun was far more active. 'These results establish sputtering's role in the loss of Mars' atmosphere and in determining the history of water on Mars,' said Curry. The discovery helps fill a major gap in our understanding of Mars' transformation from a once-habitable planet to the cold, dry world we see today. It also provides critical insight into how planets evolve and what it might take for them to remain habitable. The findings have been published this week in Science Advances.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mars Sample Return now! (op-ed)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Dr. Bruce Jakosky has been a Mars researcher for almost 50 years and was the principal investigator for the MAVEN mission that explored the Martian upper atmosphere. Dr. Scott Hubbard served as the first Mars Exploration Program Director, created NASA's Astrobiology Institute, was Center Director for NASA Ames, and founded the Stanford Center for Commercial Space Transportation. Exploring Mars and searching for life elsewhere have been among NASA's highest priorities for at least 30 years. Returning samples of the Martian surface to Earth for study is the logical next step in these efforts. But planning by NASA for such a sample-return mission has been dropped from the President's proposed budget. The Office of Management and Budget argued that the first human mission could return samples. We want to describe the value of having samples and express our sense of urgency in achieving this goal. The scientific arguments for returning samples from Mars are compelling. Having samples in our labs here on Earth will allow us to answer fundamental questions about the history of Mars, the evolution of planets in general, the potential for life to have existed on Mars, and whether there actually was life there at some point in its history. Either finding life, or looking and not finding any, would have profound implications for our society and for our understanding of the universe around us. Our knowledge about Mars has progressed to the point that the questions we're asking can best be addressed with returned samples. While some have argued for simply adding more landers and rovers, the analyses that can be done in laboratories on Earth will provide much more information than can be obtained on Mars with in situ assets that have, of necessity, extremely limited scientific instrumentation. Worldwide participation by hundreds of investigators in shared samples will increase the certainty of our knowledge, particularly if the fingerprints of life are detected. And, as we know from the Apollo experience, samples are the gift that can keep on giving, even 50 years after acquisition. If we were to decide not to return samples, or to put it off to an uncertain future time to be returned by astronauts, we would be taking a major step backward in exploring the solar system. Furthermore, if NASA delays the return of the samples so carefully gathered by the Perseverance rover, the critical engineering and technological knowledge of how to land on Mars may be lost in the U.S. as layoffs occur. Only two countries have demonstrated the capability to navigate the tenuous atmosphere of Mars, land successfully and conduct significant science: the USA and China. By abandoning MSR, the U.S. will be conceding the first-ever MSR to China, which has announced plans to return samples by 2031. In addition to the scientific value, analyzing returned samples will help us dramatically in preparing for upcoming human missions. Doing this would ensure that, when we do send humans, they would do the most compelling science possible. People bring with them incredible skills and insights that can be used to collect the best samples and understand the context in which they occurred. If, instead, we used astronauts to return the samples that the Perseverance rover has collected in Jezero Crater, we would not be taking advantage of these abilities. In essence, we would be sending astronauts to do what a robotic mission could do. Related stories: — Trump's 2026 budget plan would cancel NASA's Mars Sample Return mission. Experts say that's a 'major step back' — Perseverance rover's Mars samples must be brought back to Earth, scientists stress — Life on Mars: Exploration and evidence Returning samples in advance of human missions also allows us to reduce the risk in the human missions themselves. We could determine whether there is a risk to human health from Martian dust. We could demonstrate the first round-trip travel to Mars, and we could address important problems in planetary protection so that we don't put the Earth at risk from possible Martian microbes. While the implementation of these solutions certainly won't be the same for human missions as it is for samples, solving them for samples first would give us an incredible advantage in determining how we would solve them for human missions. The underlying rationale for sending people has to be compelling enough to justify the risk to lives and the cost of the missions. Science provides much of that rationale. We have the opportunity today to implement exploration and science in a way that makes sense from a programmatic, budgetary, and risk perspective, starting with the Mars sample-return mission. The results will be worth the effort and the cost, not just in understanding the world around us in general but also in determining if there has ever been life on Mars. And isn't that what space exploration is all about?
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA says Mars rover sample has textures 'unlike anything we've seen‘
NASA's Perseverance rover has collected a sample from Mars that has textures 'unlike anything we've ever seen before.' Known as 'Silver Mountain,' the rock core has been sealed into a tube so it can be analyzed in labs on Earth in the future. Silver Mountain is the Martian rover's 26th sample. Dozens of samples are being collected to better understand the planet's geological history, its climate, and determine whether it ever hosted life. Earlier this month, the space agency announced that the samples could be returned to Earth as soon as 2035 and as late as 2039. NASA is deliberating what method to use. It said that a selection would be announced as soon as next year. 'Pursuing two potential paths forward will ensure that NASA is able to bring these samples back from Mars with significant cost and schedule saving compared to the previous plan,' former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. The Trump administration's pick to lead the agency, billionaire Jared Isaacman, has signaled that Mars will be a priority going forward. 'Percy' has completed its climb out of Jezero Crater, where it first landed in February 2021. Jezero Crater is a region of Mars where the ancient environment may have been favorable for microbial life. Now it is moving over the 'Northern Rim,' where it is expected to visit four sites of geologic interest and take several samples. The rover has journeyed across more than 20 miles, according to an interactive map that tracks its location and traverse path on NASA's website. The samples, collected in titanium tubes after the rover uses its coring drill, are also marked on the map. 'This will also prepare us to safely send the first human explorers to Mars,' Nicky Fox, who leads NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said. The Perseverance rover is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet.
The Independent
31-01-2025
- Science
- The Independent
NASA says Mars rover sample has textures 'unlike anything we've seen‘
NASA's Perseverance rover has collected a sample from Mars that has textures 'unlike anything we've ever seen before.' Known as 'Silver Mountain,' the rock core has been sealed into a tube so it can be analyzed in labs on Earth in the future. Silver Mountain is the Martian rover's 26th sample. Dozens of samples are being collected to better understand the planet's geological history, its climate, and determine whether it ever hosted life. Earlier this month, the space agency announced that the samples could be returned to Earth as soon as 2035 and as late as 2039. NASA is deliberating what method to use. It said that a selection would be announced as soon as next year. 'Pursuing two potential paths forward will ensure that NASA is able to bring these samples back from Mars with significant cost and schedule saving compared to the previous plan,' former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. The Trump administration's pick to lead the agency, billionaire Jared Isaacman, has signaled that Mars will be a priority going forward. 'Percy' has completed its climb out of Jezero Crater, where it first landed in February 2021. Jezero Crater is a region of Mars where the ancient environment may have been favorable for microbial life. Now it is moving over the 'Northern Rim,' where it is expected to visit four sites of geologic interest and take several samples. The rover has journeyed across more than 20 miles, according to an interactive map that tracks its location and traverse path on NASA's website. The samples, collected in titanium tubes after the rover uses its coring drill, are also marked on the map. 'This will also prepare us to safely send the first human explorers to Mars,' Nicky Fox, who leads NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said. The Perseverance rover is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet.
