NASA scientists finally revealed why water in Mars could disappeared

News24xx.com - The giant dust storm on Mars is known to be dangerous because it can block sunlight from reaching the surface of the planet. It was this dust storm that damaged NASA's robot, Opportunity after not being able to recharge its power using sunlight.

Apparently, this storm not only can damage the robot but also helps accelerate the loss of water on the red planet. This discovery is the conclusion of a study conducted by NASA using the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO).

Researchers used TGOs to track the movement of water vapor on the surface of Mars before and after the dust storm that occurred in 2018. This dust storm is similar with a dust storm that damages the Opportunity explorer robot. The TGO data indicates that this storm can lift water molecules to even higher heights.

If usually a water molecule can rise up to a height of 20 kilometers, this storm can bring molecules to an altitude of 80 kilometers. At that height, solar radiation can break down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. These elements then disappear in space.

"When you bring water to a higher part of the atmosphere, it will be dissapeared easily" NASA researcher Geronimo Villanueva said in his official statement, as quoted from Space on Monday, May 6th 2019.

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