Where is the water on Mars? The red planet dries up quickly

Where did the water of Mars go? NASA appears to have the answer. his MAVEN probe (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) found that there is water vapor rapidly “seeping” into the atmosphere at high altitudes; instead of staying on the surface, like on Earth when water evaporates.

“This completely changes the way we think that hydrogen, in particular, is being lost in space,” says chemist Shane Stone of the University of Arizona at Tucson in his study published in the journal Science..

There is much more water than previously thought under the ice of Mars

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The water that leaks when it reaches space is quickly destroyed from electrically charged gas particles (ions) which are then irretrievably lost in space.

They calculated that in the last two million years the water lost on Mars could have covered the entire planet a global ocean more than half a meter deep.

How does the water get so far?

The MAVEN spacecraft discovered water vapor near the upper atmosphere (approx 150 kilometers On surface).

In Martian summers there is greater evaporation, particularly in the southern hemisphere.

The explanation could be that, when the Sun is closer, it is enormous dust storms. These strong winds would push the water vapor that far.

In June 2018, when a major dust storm swept the planet, researchers measured 20 times more atmospheric water in the atmosphere. According to his calculations, during 45 days While that storm lasted, Mars lost the same amount of water as a normal year.