The Day the Solar Wind Disappeared from Mars

In December 2022, NASA’s Mars-orbiting MAVEN mission observed the dramatic and unexpected “disappearance” of the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that continuously emanates from the Sun. This was caused by a special type of solar event that was so powerful, it created a void in its wake as it traveled through the solar system. The Martian atmosphere and magnetosphere expanded by thousands of kilometers in response, causing the solar wind to temporarily vanish from Mars. MAVEN’s observations of this dramatic event are helping scientists to better understand the physics that drive atmospheric and water loss at Mars. Learn more about MAVEN at: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/maven

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Kel Elkins: Lead Data Visualizer
Dan Gallagher: Producer/Narrator
Greg Shirah: Data Visualizer
Cindy Starr: Data Visualizer
Walt Feimer: Animator
John Blackwell: Animator
Jonathan North: Animator
Kim Dongjae: Animator
Chris Meaney: Animator
Jasper Halekas: Scientist
Skylar Shaver: Scientist
Abigail Azari: Scientist
Yingjuan Ma: Scientist
Shannon Curry: Scientist
Willow Reed: Communications
Nancy Neal-Jones: Public Affairs

Universal Production Music: “Space Museum” by Harry Gregson Williams [BMI], Atmosphere Music Ltd. [PRS]; “Currents and Crime Scenes” by Dylan Matthew Love and Harry Gregson Williams [BMI], Atmosphere Music Ltd. [PRS]

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