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Home
About
Science Team
Principal Investigator
Institutional Partners
Meet the MAVENites
Spacecraft
Mission Timeline
FAQs
Science
Science Orbit
Instruments
Solar Wind Electron Analyzer (SWEA)
Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA)
Suprathermal and Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC)
Solar Energetic Particle (SEP)
Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW)
Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Monitor
Magnetometer (MAG)
Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS)
IUVS Imaging Highlights
Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS)
Radio Occultation Science Experiment (ROSE)
Released Results
Publications
Science Data Center
MAVEN Science Spotlights
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For Educators
MAVEN Educator Ambassador Project
Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!
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Invisible Mars: Science On a Sphere
Imagine Mars through Native Eyes
Girls Go to Mars
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2015 New Media Professional Development Workshop
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Message to Mars contest
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Ions of Eight Metals from Comet Dust Detected in Mars Atmosphere
Ions of Eight Metals from Comet Dust Detected in Mars Atmosphere
These eight graphs present data from a mass spectrometer on NASA’s MAVEN orbiter identifying metal ions added to the Martian atmosphere shortly after comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring sped close to Mars. MAVEN’s Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) directly samples the composition of Mars’ upper atmosphere when the spacecraft dips into the top of the atmosphere during each elongated orbit. These graphs show count rates of specific types of metal ions from each of multiple dips during the period from Oct. 18 to Oct. 23, 2014. The time of the comet’s closest approach to Mars is marked with a vertical line on each graph. Measurements were suspended temporarily around that time. The vertical axis is detector count rates, with different scales for the different types of metals. The pattern for each metal is similar: no detection in the days preceding the comet flyby, a sharp peak shortly after the flyby, then a rapid return to virtually no detections. The detected metals sodium and manganese each exist naturally as only one isotope. The detection charts include more than one isotope for nickel, magnesium, chromium, iron and zinc. Only one of potassium’s three isotopes was detected. The detection peaks resulted from dust particles that had been released by the comet’s nucleus vaporizing as they entered the Martian atmosphere at high speed. (Courtesy NASA/GSFC)
Main Menu
Home
About
Science Team
Principal Investigator
Institutional Partners
Meet the MAVENites
Spacecraft
Mission Timeline
FAQs
Science
Science Orbit
Instruments
Solar Wind Electron Analyzer (SWEA)
Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA)
Suprathermal and Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC)
Solar Energetic Particle (SEP)
Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW)
Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Monitor
Magnetometer (MAG)
Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS)
IUVS Imaging Highlights
Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS)
Radio Occultation Science Experiment (ROSE)
Released Results
Publications
Science Data Center
MAVEN Science Spotlights
Space Weather
Education & Outreach
For Educators
MAVEN Educator Ambassador Project
Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!
Afterschool & Summer Programs
Invisible Mars: Science On a Sphere
Imagine Mars through Native Eyes
Girls Go to Mars
Public Outreach
MAVEN Outreach Webinars
New Media Professional Development
2015 New Media Professional Development Workshop
MAVEN Space Valentines 2022
Going to Mars campaign
Message to Mars contest
Educator recognition selections
Student art contest
About the first-place entry
School-based awards
Multimedia
Spacecraft Images
Team Images
Videos
News & Events
Team Blog
MAVEN in the News
Events
Media Contacts