Mars May Have a Mohawk: Red Planet Has Rock Star Particle Hairstyle

Mars may be sporting a "hairstyle" that's sure to make other planets jealous. NASA's MAVEN spacecraft has discovered that the Red Planet sports a "Mohawk" of escaping atmospheric particles at its poles, and "wears" a layer of metal particles high in its atmosphere, and lights up with aurora after being hit with solar storms.

MAVEN was first launched toward Mars on Nov. 18, 2013. Since then, the spacecraft has orbited the planet, trying to discover how the Red Planet lost its atmosphere. This mission was then extended from November of this year through Sept. 2016 in light of its success. Now, researchers are learning a bit more about Mars.

"MAVEN is observing a polar plume of escaping atmospheric particles," said Bruce Jakosky, principal investigator for MAVEN in a news release. "The amount of material escaping by this route could make it a major player in the loss of gas to space."

Theoretical models have actually predicted that the electric field generated by incoming solar wind could drive ions in the direction of one pole or the other, creating a polar plume of escaping ions. When tracing particle trajectories in the models, though, the plume looks a bit like a "Mohawk."

The findings reveal a bit more about the Martian atmosphere. This, in turn, may tell scientists how the atmosphere has escaped over time. This, in turn, may tell researchers whether or not the Red Planet could have been hospitable to life at some point in the ancient past.

The findings are being discussed at a MAVEN-sponsored "new media" workshop held in Berkley California.

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