All articles tagged with #mars atmosphere
ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captured detailed composite images of Mars' atmosphere, revealing delicate, layered dust and gas structures that vary with altitude and influence the planet's climate and weather patterns, enhancing our understanding of the Red Planet's atmospheric composition and behavior.
The European Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter captured a detailed image of Mars, revealing giant volcanoes, valleys, craters, clouds, and the moon Phobos. The image showcases Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, along with three other colossal shield volcanoes. Mars is covered in craters due to its proximity to the asteroid belt, and clouds made of water and carbon-dioxide ice can be seen at the poles. The planet's atmosphere has largely dissipated, leaving it intensely dry, but it was once a wet planet that could have supported primitive life.
NASA's MAVEN mission observed a rare solar event in December 2022, causing the solar wind to "disappear" and leading to significant changes in Mars' atmosphere and magnetosphere. The event created a void in the solar wind, causing the Martian atmosphere and magnetosphere to expand. MAVEN's measurements provided vital insights into the planet's interaction with solar phenomena, offering valuable data for scientists studying Mars' response to extreme solar events.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing for its second mission to Mars, Mangalyaan-2, nine years after its successful first attempt. The mission will carry four scientific instruments to study various aspects of Mars, including interplanetary dust, the Martian atmosphere, and the environment. The instruments include a Mars Orbit Dust Experiment (MODEX), a Radio Occultation (RO) experiment, an Energetic Ion Spectrometer (EIS), and a Langmuir Probe and Electric Field Experiment (LPEX). The mission aims to further explore and understand Mars' atmosphere and contribute to scientific knowledge about the red planet.