Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.7301b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #73.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.630
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
A major component of the current NASA Mars Exploration Program (MEP) plans is the determination of the Mars climate, and hence the atmosphere's history. A growing body of evidence supports an ancient Mars having a milder, wetter climate, suggesting that its atmosphere was once more substantial than it is today. The fate of the lost atmosphere and water is a major unanswered question. Is the "lost” water sequestered in the crust at all latitudes, or did much of it escape to space? While available measurements and theoretical studies suggest that a number of escape processes are at work today, little is known about their efficacy, including temporal variations and dependencies on factors such as solar activity. Any extrapolation of these escape processes into the past must be based on a more complete understanding of current escape processes and rates.
A Mars aeronomy mission to study the upper atmosphere and plasma environment, and to address atmospheric escape processes, has been discussed and recommended by a number of study teams and panels (e.g. Hunten et al., 1986; NRC COMPLEX Committee's Assessment of Mars Science and Mission Priorities, 2002; Planetary Decadal Survey, 2003; MEPAG Goals Document, 2006). Accordingly, Mars aeronomy is becoming a high priority for the NASA MEP and its future plans..
In this talk, I will briefly review the current understanding of the Mars upper atmosphere structure and physical processes (i.e. thermosphere, ionosphere, exosphere, solar wind interaction), describe the key escape processes relevant to the current epoch, and identify recent spacecraft measurements that sample the upper atmosphere and provide estimates of escape rates. A summary will be made of the measurements needed at the planet to properly characterize the reservoirs available for escape and the volatile escape rates themselves.
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