On the trail of Mars’ escaping atmosphere

Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) is a NASA Scout mission to study Mars’ escaping atmosphere. The satellite will be placed into orbit around the red planet to explore its upper atmosphere, ionosphere and interactions with the Sun and solar wind.

In its ancient past, Mars’ atmosphere was denser and more likely to support the presence of surface liquid water. But following a major shift in its climate, most of the planet’s atmosphere escaped into space. Scientists will use MAVEN data to determine the role that loss of volatile compounds—such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and water—to space has played through time, giving insight into the history of Mars' atmosphere and climate, liquid water and habitability.

The MAVEN spacecraft will carry 8 instruments under the responsibility of the mission’s Principal Investigator Bruce Jakosky from the University of Colorado. These include the Solar Wind Electron Analyser (SWEA) developed and supplied by the IRAP astrophysics and planetology research institute in Toulouse.

SWEA will analyse electrons from the solar wind in Mars’ magnetosphere. CNES is overseeing development of the instrument and providing funding. This instrument will complement the Solar Wind Electron & Ion Analyser (SWEIA). MAVEN is the second of NASA’s Scout programme of competitively proposed, relatively low-cost missions to Mars.

^{Last updated: December 2012.}