NASA Unravels the Astonishing Phenomenon that Deprived Mars of Water! Solar Wind "Dried Up" Mars — The Shocking Moment Captured by MAVEN

0. Prologue—Why Was "Blue Mars" Lost?

Once, Mars had lakes and rivers flowing, with a blue sky stretching above—. The key to solving this grand paradox became clear with the latest research published by NASA on July 2025. A team from the University of Colorado and other institutions analyzed nine years of data from the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft and reported the world's first direct observation of "atmospheric sputtering".phys.org. This phenomenon is the decisive evidence that Mars lost a massive amount of water and atmosphere to space.

1. What is Sputtering?

• Charged particles in the solar wind (mainly protons) become "bullets" with an electric field in the Martian atmosphere, physically knocking out atmospheric molecules. process.

• While Earth is protected by a global magnetic field, Mars lost its magnetic field 4 billion years ago, leaving its exposed atmosphere to be directly hit.

• Previously, there was only indirect evidence like isotope ratios, and estimates were dependent on models science.nasa.gov.
  
  
  

2. Research Highlights

• Lead Author: Dr. Shannon Curry (U.C. Berkeley)

• Published in: Science Advances July 2025 issue (eadt1538)

• Data Source: MAVEN + simultaneous observations from 3 other satellites
  
  
  

3. Breakthrough in Observation Methods

1. MAVEN was scanned in a polar orbit to simultaneously acquire argon density by day, night, and altitude.

2. Measured the direction of the solar wind's electric field and analyzed the correlation coefficient with density fluctuations in real-time.

3. Furthermore, global mapping was conducted, revealing that the emission source is concentrated in the high latitudes on the day side rather than the "tail" infomoney.com.br.
   
   
   

Dr. Curry states, "We have moved beyond previous research that estimated fire from ash, and finally captured the 'flame' itself."infomoney.com.br.

4. Three Points That Rewrite Martian History

1. Change in the Main Mechanism of Water Escape

   • Sputtering might have been overwhelmingly dominant over photochemical decomposition.

2. The Significance of the "Lost Magnetic Field"

   • Energy balance models suggest that 90% of ocean area could have evaporated within tens of millions of years after the magnetic field disappeared.

3. Shift in Perspective on Extraterrestrial Life Exploration

   • The presence or absence of a magnetic field becomes the most important parameter in evaluating the habitability of exoplanets.
     
     
     

5. Reactions on Social Media—Five Trends

Overall Positive 78%, Skeptical 12%, Others 10%

6. Key Points for Experts

• Recalibration of Atmospheric Escape Models

  • The measured value of "4 times" has a significant impact on Martian paleoclimate simulations.

• Risk Management for Manned Mars Exploration

  • Increased flux of charged particles at high latitudes on the day side directly affects the selection of candidate sites for base construction.

• Comparison with Earth's Magnetosphere Research

  • A valuable dataset for parallel comparison of "worlds with magnetic fields" and "worlds without magnetic fields."
    
    
    

7. Ripple Effects on Citizen Science and Education

• PBL (Problem-Based Learning) for high schools using MAVEN's public data has started in the U.S.

• A Japanese version of the "Mars Hackathon" is being planned by JAXA and the University of Tokyo for 2026 (according to insiders).

• NASA's Eyes on the Solar System will soon add a sputtering visualization mode svs.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  
  
  

8. Future Prospects

1. A "sputtering intensive observation campaign" targeting the large solar storms of **EM-6 (Late Solar Cycle 25)** is planned for summer 2026.

2. Cross-calibration with the European-Russian joint Trace Gas Orbiter will enable direct measurement of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes.

3. If future Mars terraforming is aimed at, the creation of an artificial magnetic field is increasingly being seen as an "essential condition."
   
   
   

9. Ending—A Warning from the Red Planet to the "Blue Earth"

The fate of Mars is not a story of a distant world. The future simulation of what would happen if Earth lost its magnetic field has become even more realistic with this observation.
"Understanding Mars is linked to protecting Earth." It's no coincidence that this message went viral on social media. The best course of action we can take now is to know the scientific facts, discuss them, and choose our future.