CU\'s MAVEN mission is currently making measurements of the Martial upper atmosp
ID: 2077005 • Letter: C
Question
CU's MAVEN mission is currently making measurements of the Martial upper atmosphere in an effort to determine how much atmosphere could have been lost to space over time. The radius of Mars is ~3400 km and its gravitational acceleration is ~3.7 m/s^2. a. The measurements indicate that the present-day escape rate from the atmosphere is on the order of 10^26 particles per second, and perhaps higher. Let's assume every one of those particles is an atomic oxygen on that came from a CO_2 molecule, and that the escape rate has been constant for the past 4 billion years (almost certainly a huge underestimate!). How much atmosphere in units of mbar, has been lost to space over the past 4 billion years? b. (extra credit to be added to your score on this HW, which cannot exceed 100%) There was clearly liquid water flowing on the Martian surface earlier in its history. If, contrary to part (a), we assume every escaping particle originally came from a water molecule, then how thick is the global layer of surface water represented by this loss (The density of water is 1 g/cm^3)Explanation / Answer
mass of oxygen ion = 2.56 X 10-26Kg
gravity of mars = 3.7m/s2
In 4 billion years, the force exerted on the planet by this gas = mg X no. of particles/sec X time in secs
= 1.19 X 109N
Surface area of Mars = 1.45 X 1014 m2
Pressure = F/A = 0.82 X 10-5pascals = 8.2 X 10-7millibars