NASA has confirmed that there is a permanent metal presence in the atmosphere of Mars, representing the first detection of metal ions in any planet's ionosphere aside from Earth.
The discovery, which was made by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission, or simply known as MAVEN, could be key to unlocking several mysteries surrounding the Red Planet.
Metal Found in Mars's Atmosphere
NASA broke the news in a press release, claiming that the discovery could reveal activity in the ionosphere of Mars that was previously invisible.
"MAVEN has made the first direct detection of the permanent presence of metal ions in the ionosphere of a planet other than Earth," said Joseph Grebowsky, who is from the Goddard Space Flight Center of NASA in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Grebowsky added that the metallic ions have long lifetimes and travel far from their point of origin due to electric fields and neutral winds. As such, they could be used to predict motion in the ionosphere of Mars, similar to how we find out where the wind is blowing from leaves.
MAVEN On Mars
MAVEN has been tasked with exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars to help scientists better understand how it lost most of its air, a phenomenon that transformed the Red Planet from a possibly habitable one billions of years in the past to the cold desert planet that it is today.
MAVEN's discovery of metal in the ionosphere of Mars will help scientists in figuring out how the atmosphere of Mars is flowing out into space. The metal in Mars's ionosphere, however, behaves very differently compared to how it acts in Earth. While Earth has a magnetic field enveloping the planet, magnetic fields only exist in certain regions in Mars. Outside of those areas, the metal ion distributions on Mars do not resemble anything close to what can be seen in Earth.
The metal in the ionosphere of Mars comes from the small meteoroids that fly into the planet's atmosphere and get vaporized. Metallic atoms in the vapor trail then have some electrons removed by charged particles in the ionosphere, changing the metal atoms into metallic ions.
MAVEN has actually previously found traces of iron, magnesium, and sodium in Mars's upper atmosphere, but the latest discovery confirms that metal has a permanent presence in the planet's atmosphere.
How Will The Discovery Of Metals In Mars's Atmosphere Help Scientists?
The confirmation of metal in the atmosphere of Mars as another trait shared between the planet and Earth will help in comparative studies between the two. The metallic ions on Mars gives scientists a parameter for comparing and contrasting the Red Planet with Earth for a clearer understanding of its atmosphere.
In addition, scientists will need to figure out what is keeping the metal in the atmosphere of Mars. Without a magnetic field like that of Earth's, there should be no such layer on the Red Planet, but there appears to be something else that is keeping the metal ions together despite how Mars is losing its atmosphere into space.
