NASA spacecraft captures panoramic view of Mars

Some days NASA Red sees the planet, and he wants to paint it in rainbow colors.

In these new images of Mars, the planet’s rusty crust takes on strange, psychedelic hues. By whom were the global photos taken? space of agency maven missionShorthand for “Mars atmosphere and volatile evolution”.

Presented in ultraviolet wavelengths so the data is easier to understand visually, the ozone of the atmosphere appears splashed into Kool-Aid Purplesaurus Rex, and Martian clouds and haze look like frothy cappuccino foam or antifreeze blue . And that distinctive red surface, caused by the massive amount of oxidized iron in the ground? More like khaki or verde marble.

This is no accidental attraction for space lovers. Scientists can gain valuable information about the atmosphere of Mars by studying it through this lens.

MAVEN’s Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument measures wavelengths of light invisible to the human eye. Astronomers use this data to determine how the damage occurred instability in the atmosphere of Mars Molecules such as water and carbon dioxide that evaporate easily – have influenced the planet’s climate for centuries. These molecules were thrown into the atmosphere through the interior of Mars and through volcanic vents.

Insights gained from mission help scientists understand Mars history of liquid water and potentially pre-habitable.

maven took these pictures This January and 2022 when the planet was at opposite ends of its oval-shaped orbit around the Sun.

In the first image, taken during the Southern Hemisphere summer, the Argyre Basin, at bottom left, is filled with a rosy pink hue, indicating atmospheric haze. To the planet’s top left, Valles Marineris, a canyon system longer than the United States, appears brown because of cloud cover. Down below the southern polar ice cap is stark white, but is shrinking due to warmer weather.

“The heat and dust storms in the southern summer carry water vapor to great heights.” the agency saidMAVEN’s previous finding of greater hydrogen loss from the planet during this time of year has been reinforced.

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The second image shows how much the atmosphere changes with the seasons. The northern polar region appears white, filled with clouds, and Valles Marineris, now in the lower left, remains gray with lots of craters.

“Ozone, which appears magenta in this UV view, is formed during the cold polar nights of the northern winter,” according to nasa, “It is then destroyed by chemical reactions with water vapor in the northern spring, which is limited by the low altitude of the atmosphere at this time of year.”

The MAVEN mission, which was planned to last two years, has now studied Mars for nearly a decade. The orbiter has enough fuel to operate until 2030.