Remnants of the Lost Martian Atmosphere
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Text, News from the Universe. February 11, 2021
Remnants of the Lost Martian Atmosphere
Mars hangs against a starry background.
Text, Mars has been shedding its atmosphere for billions of years.
Mars' moon Phobos orbits through the stream of charged particles coming from the planet's atmosphere.
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Data from NASA's MAVEN spacecraft indicate that remnants of Mars' ancient atmosphere could be preserved on Phobos' surface.
Photo, Phobos - a gray, deeply cratered rock floats against a black background
Text, The archived Martian atmospheric material could shed light on how the planet went from supporting liquid water to the dry world we see today.
Confirmation could come later this decade when Japan's space agency sends a probe to collect and return samples from Phobos.
This news was brought to you i part by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD