The key points you need to understand about this story, in our 1-minute read.
- For the first time, NASA has directly seen Mars’s atmosphere being stripped away by the Sun – a process called 'sputtering' – as it happens
- Powerful solar particles slammed into Mars, knocking its air and water into space and leaving the planet dry and barren
- This atmospheric loss is happening four times faster than scientists expected, especially during solar storms
- The discovery helps explain why Mars can no longer support life and why its surface is so different from Earth’s
- It’s a stark reminder that a planet’s atmosphere – and its habitability – can be lost, changing our understanding of life on other worlds
![Frosty white water ice clouds and swirling orange dust storms above a vivid rusty landscape reveal Mars as a dynamic planet in this sharpest view ever obtained by an Earth-based telescope. The Earth-orbiting Hubble telescope snapped this picture on June 26, when Mars was approximately 43 million miles (68 million km) from Earth - its closest approach to our planet since 1988. Hubble can see details as small as 10 miles (16 km) across. Especially striking is the large amount of seasonal dust storm activity seen in this image. One large storm system is churning high above the northern polar cap [top of image], and a smaller dust storm cloud can be seen nearby. Another large duststorm is spilling out of the giant Hellas impact basin in the Southern Hemisphere [lower right]. Acknowledgements: J. Bell (Cornell U.), P. James (U. Toledo), M. Wolff (Space Science Institute), A. Lubenow (STScI), J. Neubert (MIT/Cornell)](https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/48/2021/05/Mars-d1e4afb.jpg?webp=1&w=1200)
For all the science and insights behind this story, read our full feature—"Splash! Like a "cannonball in a pool", NASA may have finally worked out how Mars lost its atmosphere
