NASA’s MAVEN mission is helping clear up the mystery surrounding the Red Planet’s extreme transformation.


Mars may be inhospitable now, but long ago that wasn’t likely the case. 
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, mission gathered information that is helping clear up the mystery surrounding the Red Planet’s extreme transformation.
It appears the sun was a key player in the demise. 
Data returned by the MAVEN craft allowed scientist to assess the loss rates of gasses around Mars. 
They were then able to determine the relationship between the depletion of the atmosphere and solar winds. 
MAVEN’s principal investigator