MAVEN and the Missing Solar Wind

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with NASA’s Universe of Learning partners: Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Video imagery:

·       Visualization of MAVEN data from December 25, 2022: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

·       Animation of MAVEN over Mars: NASA/GSFC

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Different scenes from space, including stars, galaxies, nebulas, planets. Text, News from the Universe. 

 

Maven and the Missing Solar Wind. December 19, 2023. A brown planet rotates, half in dark. Lines quickly cross over it from right to left. Text, Solar Wind. Animation. 

 

One year ago, NASA's MAVEN mission, in orbit over Mars, detected a puzzling gap in the stream of charged particles from the Sun, known as the solar wind. A golden grid over Mars extends to the left, into space. In front of Mars is a purple area called the magnetosphere. The edge of this purple area is called Bow Shock. An arrow sweeps around Mars. It shows the MAVEN craft. Text, MAVEN data indicates the pause in the solar wind was a result of a rare event when a rapid burst from the Sun swept up a slower-moving stream, leaving the gap in its wake. 

 

The craft flies over the Martian surface. 

 

Now the craft orbits Mars. Text, MAVEN observed the Martian atmosphere and magnetosphere expand to more than triple their normal size without the pressure from the solar wind. among other unusual changes. 

 

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The MAVEN data is helping scientists better understand the effect of our quote, windy sun on Mars. 

 

The craft orbits Mars, and its path is multicolored. Red and orange show heavy ion density. Most of the bottom of the circle are these colors. Most of the top is blue and purple, and this shows light ion density. 

 

Text, this news was brought to you in part by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.