Mars And Venus Are Surprisingly Similar

MARSDAILY

Venus is as large as Earth and it is difficult for its atmosphere to escape due to the planet's gravity. The solar wind is the best source of energy to accelerate the upper atmosphere's charged particles, giving them enough energy to escape. This is why Venus loses its atmosphere due to interaction with the solar wind.

by Staff Writers
Paris, France (ESA) Mar 06, 2008
Using two ESA spacecraft, planetary scientists are watching the atmospheres of Mars and Venus being stripped away into space. The simultaneous observations by Mars Express and Venus Express give scientists the data they need to investigate the evolution of the two planets' atmospheres.

Scientists call this work comparative planetology. Mars Express and Venus Express are so good at it because they carry very similar science instruments. In the case of the Analyser of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms (ASPERA), they are virtually identical. This allows scientists to make direct comparisons between the two planets.

The new results probe directly into the magnetic regions behind the planets, which are the predominant channels through which electrically-charged particles escape. They also present the first detection of whole atoms escaping from the atmosphere of Venus, and show that the rate of escape rose by ten times on Mars when a solar storm struck in December 2006.

By observing the current rates of loss of the two atmospheres, planetary scientists hope that they will be able to turn back the clock and understand what they were like in the past. The results can potentially help understand the evolution of planetary climates.

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MARSDAILY

Mars Express One Of Three Orbiters Preparing For Phoenix Landing

Paris, France (ESA) Feb 29, 2008
A trio of NASA and ESA spacecraft orbiting Mars are preparing for the 25 May arrival of NASA's Phoenix lander. ESA's Mars Express has already started adjusting its orbit to provide critical back-up monitoring of Phoenix.

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