# The Case of the Missing Martian Atmosphere

Jared Espley spoke about climate change on Mars and the MAVEN mission. Several types of evidence from past Mars missions leads us to believe that Mars used to be much different from the dry, cold place we find today. Ancient gullies and canyons look as if they were carved by flowing water, minerals that can only be made in standing water have been found, and ancient volcanoes of many sizes litter the surface. Clearly, the atmosphere had to have been thicker and possibly warmer to support so much liquid water on the surface. What happened? Because Mars lacks a planetary-sized magnetic field, the solar wind is able to gradually erode its upper atmosphere. Could a whole atmosphere's worth of erosion have taken place? MAVEN which was launched on November 18, 2013 and is set to arrive September 21, 2014 should help us explore this possibility.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2014
- By: Library Of Congress. Science, Technology, And Business Division
- Genres: Education, Science
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021689523/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021689523?play=1)