Aurora and high altitude dust cloud detected in Martian atmosphere

NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft has detected two unexpected phenomena in the short time since making orbit around the red planet – an aurora occurring deep in the Martian atmosphere, and an as of yet unexplained high altitude dust cloud. MAVEN is currently four months into a primary mission lasting one Earth year, during which time it is attempting to shed light on the characteristics of the Martian upper atmosphere and ionosphere, studying how they interact with our Sun... Continue Reading Aurora and high altitude dust cloud detected in Martian atmosphere



Section: Space



Tags: Atmosphere, Mars, MAVEN, NASA, Spacecraft, University of Colorado



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from Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine http://ift.tt/1Ik3tOH