SNIP: Observer.com
New data indicates that Mars lost a substantial amount of its atmosphere early on in its history, and the process could be driven by periods of intense solar bursts.
The science team reached this conclusion after studying a particular set of MAVEN data collected earlier this year. On March 8, 2015 MAVEN observed an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME), which is a burst of gas and magnetism emitted by the Sun.
“Understanding what happened to the Mars atmosphere will inform our knowledge of the dynamics and evolution of any planetary atmosphere. Learning what can cause changes to a planet’s environment from one that could host microbes at the surface to one that doesn’t is important to know, and is a key question that is being addressed in NASA’s journey to Mars,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s science mission directorate.
More at Source: http://observer.com/2015/11/breaking-nasa-confirms-how-mars-transformed-from-earth-like-to-a-cold-dry-planet/
