Mars used to have a warmer and wetter climate, which changed over billions of years as the Sun’s solar wind removed most of its atmosphere, turning the planet into its current dry and frozen state.
The NASA mission, called Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE), is currently observing the process live to learn more about the loss of the planet’s habitability and plan for the next human mission.
What Does NASA Reveal About Mars’ Atmosphere?
Unlike the previous mission, the NASA mission consists of two separate spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars together. This allows the scientists to study the planet’s magnetic environment from two different points, providing a better perspective on the loss of the planet’s atmosphere due to the solar wind.
“The ESCAPADE duo provides a stereo perspective, two points of view at the same time,” said Rob Lilles, lead researcher from the University of California.
By first flying along the same path and then deviating to their own orbits, the spacecraft will be able to monitor both the incoming solar wind and Mars’ atmospheric response.
Mars’ thin atmosphere and weak magnetic field do not protect the planet from solar radiation as well as Earth does, and this is a concern for future Mars travelers. ESCAPADE is also important to scientists because of Mars’ hybrid magnetosphere and ionosphere, which is important for safe travel and reliable communications.
“Before we send people to Mars, we need to understand the environment they will encounter,” said Michele Cash, ESCAPADE program scientist at NASA Headquarters.
ESCAPADE is also experimenting with a new trajectory, currently orbiting Earth’s Lagrange Point 2 and then using Earth’s gravity to travel to Mars in September 2027.
