Sputtering: How mars may have lost its atmosphere
Thursday, September 13, 2012 - 10:58
in Astronomy & Space
Why is Mars cold and dry? While some recent studies hint that early Mars may have never been wet or warm, many scientists think that long ago, Mars once had a denser atmosphere that supported liquid water on the surface. If so, Mars might have had environmental conditions to support microbial life. However, for some reason, most of the Martian atmosphere was lost to space long ago and the thin wispy atmosphere no longer allows water to be stable at the surface. Scientists aren't sure how or why this happened, but one way a planet can lose its atmosphere is through a process called 'sputtering.' In this process, atoms are knocked away from the atmosphere due to impacts from energetic particles.