First Direct Evidence of How Mars Lost Its Thick Atmosphere and Water

First direct evidence of how Mars lost its thick atmosphere and water

For years, scientists have puzzled over how Mars lost the thick atmosphere it once had. That atmosphere was essential for liquid water to exist on the planet’s surface, billions of years ago. Today, new data from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission—MAVEN—finally brings answers. After nearly a decade in orbit, MAVEN has delivered the first direct observations of a powerful and long-suspected process known as sputtering. This bre…

NASA's MAVEN Makes First Observation of Atmospheric Sputtering at Mars

Boulder CO (SPX) Jun 03, 2025 After a decade of searching, NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere Volatile Evolution) mission has, for the first time, reported a direct observation of an elusive atmospheric escape process called sputtering that could help answer longstanding questions about the history of water loss on Mars. Scientists have known for a long time, through an abundance of evidence, that water was present on Mars'