Does Air Exist on Mars?

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Mars' global dust storm, see all the dust.
Courtesy of NASA/JPL.
   The Red Planet, saw from the eyes of the Roman people, gave this planet a name of Mars, the Roman God of war. Many probes and rovers sent by NASA successfully has given us 'eyes' on this "Bloody Planet". Air has been proven by these machineries at the planet, but is there the ingredients for life? (Oxygen, hydrogen, etc.)

Video taken by the
Opportunity Rover's cameras,
shows that there are clouds on
the planet.
Courtesy of NASA/JPL.
   The atmosphere of Mars is almost 100 times thinner than the atmosphere of Earth's, with mostly 96% Carbon dioxide, less than 2% of argon and nitrogen, and less than 1% of all other gases like oxygen and hydrogen. However, despite its small atmosphere, Mars still have clouds, weather and dust storms. Dust devils happen globally on the planet in periods of times, and Hubble Telescope has discovered that hydrogen is escaping the planet every time a large dust storm occurs. MAVEN observations show that hydrogen loss in the atmosphere happens more with seasons, and not solar winds from the sun.

This graph shows and explains
the process of sputtering, and
how the MAVEN satellite
proves so.
Courtesy of NASA/JPL.
   Mars' atmosphere should have been as Earth's at a long time ago. With the NASA MAVEN probe discovered that solar wind from the sun are responsible for the loss of Mars' atmosphere. The photons from the solar wind can knock out the electrons in the air molecules causing them to be uncharged, and become ions, and with the magnetic field wave that the sun throws, these ions will spin around the field. Just as the sun throws the magnetic field and attracts these ions, and suck them out of the planet, some leave the planet when the wave and the ion hits the planet's surface and bounces out, knocking some other air particles out with it too. Argon-36 are one of the gases that only can be sputtered to be 'gone', rather than being chemically changed. With tests of loss of Argon-36 from various altitudes on the planet, with corresponding matters like carbon dioxide and water losses, scientists infer that the atmosphere could have been like Earth's, 4 billion years ago, and can support oceans and life.


Dust devil caught by
Opportunity Rover. (up right)
Courtesy of NASA/JPL.

   The conditions of Mars' climate is cold and dry, at midday it can reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit and drop to negative 195 degrees Fahrenheit at night. With its atmosphere so low, radiation is found everywhere on the planet. It gets very cold in the winter that it snows "dry ice", which is the solid state of carbon dioxide. However, by the time winter comes in the corner, these dry ice caps melt into carbon dioxide and exposes the hydrogen ice caps underneath. Seasonal changes are caused by the increasing and decreasing of carbon dioxide in the air. When the global dust storms form, caused maybe by warm air flowing into the extremely cold air, or by other celestial bodies, the daytime temperatures drop, but the nighttime temperature does not go as low, as the dusts prevents heat to escape. However the Red Planet is also very dry, with no bodies of water visible on the planet. Due to the thinning of the atmosphere, most water could have been lost into space, or have seeped into the depths of the planet.


This UV image
captured by MAVEN,
shows hydrogen
escaping the planet.
Courtesy of NASA.
   Air does in fact exists on Mars, however in small amount, for that the atmosphere is very thin. The atmosphere could be still suitable for life, for oxygen does exist on the planet, same as carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen does exist on the planet, and these are life essential.

Bibliography:

Sharp, Tim. "Mars' Atmosphere: Composition, Climate & Weather"  Space.com.  September 11, 2017. Retrieved at September 14, 2018, from: https://www.space.com/16903-mars-atmosphere-climate-weather.html/.

"Mars Facts" NASA.gov. Retrieved at September 15, 2018 at:
https://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/facts/#detailedFacts/.

Brown, Katherine. "NASA's MAVEN Reveals Most of Mars' Atmosphere Was Lost to Space" NASA.gov. March 30, 2017. Retrieved at September 15 from:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasas-maven-reveals-most-of-mars-atmosphere-was-lost-to-space/.

Greicius, Tony. "Dust Storms Linked to Gas Escape from Mars Atmosphere" NASA.gov.
January 23, 2018. Retrieved at September 16, 2018 from:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/dust-storms-linked-to-gas-escape-from-mars-atmosphere/.

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