Sun Planets and Moons ID: 11498

MAVEN Particles & Fields Package

Released on March 5, 2014

To planetary scientists, the Martian atmosphere presents an intriguing mystery: today it's a thin, cold wisp of carbon dioxide with just one percent the pressure of Earth's atmosphere, but long ago it was thick and warm enough to support lakes and rivers on the Martian surface. How did Mars lose so much of its early atmosphere? Scientists think that the solar wind may be responsible, and NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft is designed to find out. The instruments of MAVEN's Particles & Fields package will study the interaction of the solar wind with Mars's upper atmosphere, helping scientists to better understand how Mars became the freeze-dried planet that we see today.

For More Information

http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/

Credits

Michael Lentz (USRA): Lead Animator
Chris Meaney (HTSI): Animator
Chris Smith (HTSI): Animator
Dan Gallagher (USRA): Video Editor
Robert Lin (University of California at Berkeley): Interviewee
Dan Gallagher (USRA): Producer
Robert Lin (University of California at Berkeley): Scientist
David L. Mitchell (Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley): Scientist
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
David Silberberg: Project Support
Rob Andreoli (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.): Videographer
Kevin Deane (Oakville Lane Productions, Inc.): Videographer

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center