Is This How Planet Mars Lost Its Atmosphere? | NASA Goddard
Mars is losing its atmosphere. Over billions of years, the Red Planet has transformed from a potentially habitable world with lakes, rivers, and a thicker atmosphere into the cold, dry desert we see today. NASA’s MAVEN mission has been tracking this process in real time, catching Mars in the act of slowly sputtering its atmosphere into space.
This phenomenon—called “atmospheric sputtering”—happens when high-energy particles from the Sun slam into Mars’s upper atmosphere, knocking atoms and molecules loose. Without a global magnetic field to protect it, Mars is especially vulnerable. MAVEN has shown that this atmospheric escape accelerates during solar storms, offering a powerful view of how the Sun shapes the evolution of planetary atmospheres.
The data from MAVEN helps us understand how atmospheres behave across the solar system and beyond. It is a glimpse into what makes a planet stay habitable—or lose that potential entirely.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/maven/
https://lasp.colorado.edu/maven/
Dan Gallagher: Lead Producer
Paul Morris: Producer / Editor
Dr. Shannon Curry: Scientist / Interviewee
Willow Reed: Public Affairs
Nancy Jones: Public Affairs
Greg Shirah: Data Visualizer
Cindy Starr: Data Visualizer
Kel Elkins: Data Visualizer
Walt Feimer: Animator
Michael Lentz: Animator
Chris Smith: Animator
Jonathan North: Animator
Brian Monroe: Animator
Lisa Poje: Graphic Designer
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Kim Dongjae: Graphic Designer
Ernie Wright: Support
Aaron E. Lepsch: Technical Support
Additional Credits:
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Ashes Of A Camp Fire Next To Chair by BlackBoxGuild via Pond5
Wood Burning In A Camp Fire by Edb3_16 via Pond5
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: May 29, 2025
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