NASA’s MAVEN Makes 1st Discovery of Atmospheric Effect at Mars0

• Goddard Space Flight Center, Mars, MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN), SCIENCE, The Solar System
• May 18, 2026

In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected — observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet’s atmosphere. Using instruments aboard NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission, scientists identified a phenomenon known to occur in Earth’s magnetosphere, where charged particles are squeezed like toothpaste