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NASA ESCAPADE The mission, designed to study the effects of solar wind on the atmosphere of Mars, was ironically delayed on the launch pad due to a solar storm affecting conditions here on Earth.
ESCAPADE, which stands for Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, was scheduled to lift off aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on November 12. But it was postponed to November 13 due to a volcanic eruption.surface of the Sun, which could damage the spacecraft.
Known as coronal mass ejectionsThese huge eruptions shoot giant clouds of charged particles from the surface of the Sun into space at enormous speeds. This week, one of those droplets was aimed at Earth, giving people in the northern hemisphere a spectacular display of the aurora, or northern lights, in the evening. November 11. LeeThe tests occur when some particles are directed by the Earth's magnetic field into the upper atmosphere near the poles, causing the air to glow like a giant neon sign.
However, despite their beauty from the ground, these electrified solar particles can affect the spacecraft's electronic circuits, potentially disabling it, so the launch was delayed until the space storm had passed. The irony is that the two ESCAPADE spacecraft aboard the rocket are designed to study exactly this effect of solar eruptions, but on Mars, not here on Earth.
One of the biggest mysteries of the Red Planet is what happened to its atmosphere. Data from spacecraft in orbit and on the surface have shown that about three billion years ago, Mars was warm and wet, with rivers, lakes and possibly an ocean on its surface. This raises the possibility that life could have originated there, although signs of past life have not yet been discovered.
Since that warm period, Mars' atmosphere has thinned to about 1/1000th that of Earth's, turning the entire planet into the cold, dry, desert world we see today.
WATCH | ESCAPADE on its way to Mars:
Scientists believe that several factors contributed to the loss of Mars' atmosphere. Firstly, these are giant volcanoes, largest in the solar systemsubsided, so the atmosphere was no longer replenished from within the planet. sec.Its magnetic field then became very weak and patchy, allowing the solar wind to penetrate deep into the atmosphere, breaking up air molecules and spraying them into space.
We are fortunate that the Earth has both active volcanoes that feed our atmosphere and a strong magnetic field that acts as a shield to protect our atmosphere.protect us from solar activity.
ESCAPADE includes two orbital spacecraft which will monitor solar activity and its impact on the Martian atmosphere to determine how quickly the atmosphere is being lost today. This could have implications for future Mars astronauts, who will be exposed to increased solar radiation while on the surface.
Mars may not be the only planet to suffer the fate of losing its atmosphere. Scientists in the Netherlands discovered a super-powerful solar eruption it happened on another star. This coronal mass ejection was hundreds of times stronger and denser than those emanating from our planet. The sun, and it had enough power to completely strip the planet of its atmosphere.
The star is a red dwarf, smaller and dimmer than our Sun, but with a more powerful magnetic field. Given that these are the most common stars in the Milky Way, it makes sense that other nearby planets could also be stripped of their atmospheres. If so, it will reducece chances of finding life beyond our solar system. Further research may determine how often these superstorms occur.
This once again proves that we live in an incredibly small oasis of life in an incredibly cruel universe.
