NASA’s MAVEN Makes 1st Discovery of Atmospheric Effect at Mars

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/maven/nasas-maven-makes-1st-discovery-of-atmospheric-effect-at-mars/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nn202620 In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected — observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet’s atmosphere. Using instruments aboard NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission, scientists identified a phenomenon known to occur in Earth’s magnetosphere, where charged particles are squeezed like toothpaste coming out of a tube along magnetic structures called flux tubes. This so-called Zwan-Wolf effect aids in the deflection of solar wind around Earth and has been observed and studied there for decades. Now, a new study published in Nature Communications provides the first comprehensive observations of the same effect in Mars’ atmosphere.