It appears that Mars is losing its atmosphere to outer space at a faster rate, a study of data and images sent by ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and Nasa’s Mars orbiter Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evlolution (Maven) has found.
As Mars being a relatively smaller planet compared to Earth, it is losing atmosphere fast.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on October 21 posted on its website these findings of scientists who had studied data and images sent by MOM about a global dust storm that enveloped the Red planet in June-July 2018. Such a global storm is one of the dynamical meteorological phenomena on Mars.
While MOM was observing the Red Planet’s evening side, MAVEN was observing the morning side. And comparing the results of the two shows that argon densities measured by MOM were consistently larger than those measured by MAVEN.
MOM has confirmed what the National Aeronautics and NASA found happening on the other side of the planet – Mars’ upper atmosphere heating up and expanding due to global dust storms.
Isro had launched MOM on November 5, 2013. On September 24, 2014, the Rs 450-crore MOM was placed in the Martian orbit. Though the Mangalyaan mission was initially meant to last six months, it is still alive and sending images from time to time nearly seven years after its launch and since then has made several key findings about the Red planet.
