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What Happened to Mars? A Planetary Mystery

November 08, 2013

Mars was once on track to become a thriving Earth-like planet, yet today it is an apparently lifeless wasteland. A NASA spacecraft named MAVEN will soon journey to Mars to find out what went wrong on the Red Planet.

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This animation shows the sudden appearance of a bright aurora on Mars during a solar storm. The purple-white color scheme shows the intensity of ultraviolet light over the course of the event, from...
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Solar Storm Triggers Whole-Planet Aurora at Mars
Solar Storm Triggers Whole-Planet Aurora at Mars
NASA's MAVEN spacecraft obtained this ultraviolet image of hydrogen surrounding comet Siding Spring on Oct. 17, 2014, two days before the comet's closest approach to Mars.
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NASA's MAVEN spacecraft obtained this ultraviolet image of hydrogen surrounding comet Siding Spring on Oct. 17, 2014, two days before the comet's closest approach to Mars.
MAVEN Ultraviolet Image of Comet Siding Spring's Hydrogen Coma
MAVEN Launches.
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MAVEN Launches.
MAVEN Launches
Members of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) team celebrate at the Lockheed Martin operations center in Littleton, Colorado, Sunday night, after getting confirmation that the space...
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This image shows about 20 people wearing black shirts and mic headset clapping to celebrate MAVEN's arrival at Mars.
Celebration: MAVEN Arrives at Mars
This anaglyph, acquired by NASA's Phoenix Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on Sol 33, the 33rd Martian day of the mission (June 28, 2008), shows a stereoscopic 3D view of the Martian surface near the...
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This anaglyph, acquired by NASA's Phoenix Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on Sol 33 shows a stereoscopic 3D view of the Martian surface near the lander
Martian Surface as Seen by Phoenix (3-D)
This image is a stereo, panoramic view of various trenches dug by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. The images that make up this panorama were taken by Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager at about 4 p.m., lo...
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This image is a stereo, panoramic view of various trenches dug by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander
Phoenix Trenches (3-D)
Mars presents intriguing questions to scientists: How did the Red Planet become so desolate? Did Mars once look like Earth? How has it changed? The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (M...
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MAVEN Teaser
MAVEN Teaser
The Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) is a part of the Remote Sensing (RS) Package and measures global characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere via remote sensing.
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The Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) is a part of the Remote Sensing (RS) Package and measures global characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere via remote sensing.
Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph
This graphic depicts what Mars' atmosphere would have looked like to a viewer with ultraviolet-seeing eyes after a meteor shower on Oct. 19, 2014. It combines an image from the Imaging Ultraviolet ...
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This graphic depicts what Mars' atmosphere would have looked like to a viewer with ultraviolet-seeing eyes after a meteor shower on Oct. 19, 2014. It combines an image from the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph on NASA's MAVEN spacecraft with an illustration of how the atmosphere lies over Mars.
Emission from Ionized Magnesium in Mars' Atmosphere After Comet Flyby
The Solar Wind Electron Analyzer (SWEA) is a part of the Particles and Fields (P & F) Package and will measure the solar wind and ionospheric electrons.
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The Solar Wind Electron Analyzer (SWEA) is a part of the Particles and Fields (P & F) Package and will measure the solar wind and ionospheric electrons.
Solar Wind Electron Analyzer for MAVEN Spacecraft
MAVEN positioned atop Atlas V rocket.
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MAVEN positioned atop Atlas V rocket.
MAVEN Positioned Atop Atlas V Rocket
This artist's concept depicts the early Martian environment (left) - believed to contain liquid water and a thicker atmosphere - versus the cold, dry environment seen at Mars today (right).
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This artist's concept depicts the early Martian environment (left) - believed to contain liquid water and a thicker atmosphere - versus the cold, dry environment seen at Mars today (right).
The Look of a Young Mars
The Suprathermal and Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) instrument is part of the Particles and Fields (P & F) Package and measures thermal ions to moderate energy escaping ions.
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The Suprathermal and Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) instrument is part of the Particles and Fields (P & F) Package and measures thermal ions to moderate energy escaping ions.
Suprathermal And Thermal Ion Composition Instrument for MAVEN Spacecraft
NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft, inside a payload fairing, is hoisted to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at ...
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NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft, inside a payload fairing, is hoisted to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41.
MAVEN Spacecraft Positioned Atop Atlas V Rocket
Phobos as observed by MAVEN's Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph.
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Phobos as observed by MAVEN's Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph.
Phobos Observed by MAVEN
Mars's thick early atmosphere was likely lost to space, and the Sun is a potential culprit. When high-energy solar photons strike the upper Martian atmosphere they can ionize gas molecules, causing...
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MAVEN: Mars Atmospheric Loss: Plasma Processes
MAVEN: Mars Atmospheric Loss: Plasma Processes
NASA's MAVEN spacecraft measured light and heavy isotopes of argon in the Martian atmosphere, allowing scientists to determine that the majority of the planet's air was lost to space.
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NASA's MAVEN spacecraft measured light and heavy isotopes of argon in the Martian atmosphere, allowing scientists to determine that the majority of the planet's air was lost to space.
Measuring Mars' Atmosphere Loss
These profiles show the brightness of auroras in Mars’ atmosphere at different altitudes. The solid black profile on the right is from a September 2017 solar storm. Barely visible along the vertica...
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Martian Aurora 25 Times Brighter Than Prior Brightest
Martian Aurora 25 Times Brighter Than Prior Brightest
The countdown is underway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 where a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket stands ready to boost the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolutio...
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The countdown is underway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 where a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket stands ready to boost the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft on a 10-month journey to the Red Planet.
MAVEN Countdown Underway
This animation is a shorter clip from the video "Curiosity and MAVEN Explore Mars." While Curiosity will not be able to see MAVEN as it arrives at Mars, the rover welcomes the orbiter's discoveries...
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Curiosity Welcomes MAVEN to Mars
Curiosity Welcomes MAVEN to Mars
This is an artist's concept of the MAVEN spacecraft, showing the wedge-shaped “diving boards” that hold the Magnetometers at both ends of the solar arrays.
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This is an artist's concept of the MAVEN spacecraft, showing the wedge-shaped "diving boards" that hold the Magnetometers at both ends of the solar arrays.
Artist's Concept of MAVEN
Following liftoff, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft separates from the Centaur upper stage.
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MAVEN Separates from Centaur Upper Stage
MAVEN Separates from Centaur Upper Stage
Crews guide NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, spacecraft, inside a payload fairing, into place atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facili...
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Crews guide NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, spacecraft, inside a payload fairing, into place atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41.
MAVEN Placed Atop Atlas V
NASA Goddard hosted a live Google+ Hangout on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 4 p.m. EST about MAVEN, NASA's next mission to Mars.
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NASA's MAVEN Mars Mission Pre-Launch Hangout
NASA's MAVEN Mars Mission Pre-Launch Hangout
This image is from a scientific visualization of the electric currents around Mars.
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MAVEN Mars Electric Currents
MAVEN Mars Electric Currents

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