NASA has recently released stunning ultraviolet images of Mars, captured by its MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission. These images were taken at different points along Mars’ orbit around the sun, with one captured in July 2022 and the other in January 2023, when the planet was near the opposite end of its orbit.
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Unlike Earth, Mars takes 687 days to complete a full orbit around the sun, compared to our planet’s 365 days. By capturing the ultraviolet view of Mars, NASA scientists hope to gain a deeper understanding of the planet’s atmosphere and surface features, which are often depicted in various colors.
The measurements collected by the MAVEN imaging instrument are not visible to the human eye. Therefore, NASA has represented the data using varying brightness levels, assigning them three colors: red, green, and blue. This color scheme allows atmospheric ozone to appear as shades of purple or pink, white clouds and hazes to be depicted as white or blue, and the planet’s surface to be seen in tan or green hues.
The images reveal fascinating details. One of the images, taken during the summer of 2022 when Mars was closest to the sun, shows the Argyre Basin, one of the planet’s deepest craters, filled with atmospheric haze in the bottom left corner. The vast canyons of Valles Marineris are visible in the top left, while the southern polar ice cap can be seen at the bottom. The January 2023 image showcases a significant buildup of ozone at the top due to an abundance of white clouds during the chilly polar nights of winter. Valles Marineris is once again visible in tan in the lower left, accompanied by numerous craters.
NASA expects that these ultraviolet images will provide valuable insights into Mars’ upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and its interactions with the sun and solar wind. It is hoped that they will help explain the loss of Mars’ atmosphere into space, shedding light on the planet’s atmospheric history, climate patterns, presence of liquid water, and potential habitability.
The MAVEN mission was launched in November 2013 and entered Mars’ orbit in September 2014. With these extraordinary images, scientists are further equipped to unravel the mysteries of the Red Planet and deepen our understanding of its unique characteristics.
