Martian Dust Storms Parch the Planet By Driving Water Into Space

sciencehabit writes: Two years ago, a global dust storm veiled Mars. But although the storm took a toll, killing off NASA's Opportunity rover, it also revealed that such storms play an important role in how the once-wet planet loses its water. In 2014, looking back at data from 2007, scientists noticed that the fluorescent fog of hydrogen in the martian upper atmosphere faded as the southern hemisphere's summer ended and a previous global dust storm subsided. The only plausible source for that hydrogen was water. Subsequent observations have indicated that water, buoyed by storms, can reach much higher in the atmosphere than previously thought -- all the way to the ionosphere, a new paper reports. This allows charged particles to directly break the water apart, and it is likely the primary method of water loss on the planet today.

Re: Build a wall

[saloomy]

No. Start the planets core again. This is where we should sending spent fuel. To bury in the Martian mantle. I read that because Mars has no magnetic field to protect it from the solar wind, the atmosphere and water content was literally blown away over millions of years. If we want to colonize Mars without protective domes and crap, we need to jump start its magnetosphere by getting its core spinning. That requires long term radioactive heat. Spent fuel can provide that. We probably need more.

Re:

[CubicleZombie]

If we want to colonize Mars without protective domes and crap, we need to jump start its magnetosphere by getting its core spinning. That requires long term radioactive heat.

No. That requires Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Unless the Sandtrout have locked all the water away underground.

Re:

[WindBourne]

If all of the earth's spent fuel was left as plutonium , and we were able to inject it into mars core, it would not even raise .01 K. There is not enough. Probably far better is to crash a number of ammonia based meteors into mars and allow for the thickening of the atmosphere.
I also wonder, if it would be possible to put a massive asteroid in mars orbit and have the gravity move the crust around like it does on earth. That might help spin the core.

Re: Build a wall

[saloomy]

Mars has two moons.

What is the effect of hydrogen engines?

[elcor]

Hydrogen recombines with oxygen immediately to form water so normally there is no risk of sending our water in space.

Re:

[Arthur, KBE]

Are you talking about the engines used in the rover landings? I don't think these are the same type of engines used for a terrestrial launch. They use hypergolic fuels (I think sodium azide + some other oxidizer...)

Rubbish

[Viol8]

Put H2 in a room with O2 and nothing will happen until someone lights a match. Whats more H2 moves far faster than O2 in an atmosphere and a significant proportion will escape to space long before its had a chance of reacting with anything.

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[UnknowingFool]

Describe "immediately". From what I remember in school the kinetics of a H2/O2 reaction are not immediate without the presence of ignition. Any electrical spark or fire to initiate combustion will do.

primary method?

[SciCom Luke]

It is probably the *only* method of water loss on the planet today.

Musk has a solution

[PolygamousRanchKid]

Musk has already created The Boring Company to build big-ass tunnel drilling machines.

Now he will create The Vacuum Cleaner Company to build big-ass vacuum cleaners which will suck up the Mars dust.

Of course, he will have competition from Dyson who will build sexy, space age designer big-ass vacuum cleaners. But Musk will accuse them of being pedophiles and claim that his are better.

Interesting side note: UK folks call vacuum cleaners "Hoovers", because US President Herbert Hoover really sucked. US fol

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[dhammabum]

Where is Mega Maid when we need her?

Um, they also do on earth too.

[argStyopa]

We imagine the earth's atmosphere as a basically static thing, it's far from it.

The earth had MUCH higher atmospheric pressure. https://pubsapp.acs.org/subscr... [acs.org]

This differential explains how pterasaurs were able to even "fly". They weren't flying so much as swimming - 5 bar is the same pressure as the water pressure today at FORTY METERS DEPTH. (2x Deeper, for example, than PADI-open water scuba divers may go...)

Much of this atmosphere has been absorbed by rocks and water, but a lot has simply been strip

Re:

[kisrael]

I always thought Spaceballs' "atmosphere stealing" thing was just a gag!

Time to bust out the Perri-Air indeed!