Anomalous transient enhancement of planetary ion escape at Mars

Chi Zhang (), Chuanfei Dong (), Hongyang Zhou, Jasper Halekas, Masatoshi Yamauchi, Hans Nilsson, Terry Z. Liu, Moa Persson, Shannon Curry, Yaxue Dong, Yoshifumi Futaana, Yuxi Chen, Muni Zhou, Ruhunusiri Suranga, Kathleen G. Hanley, Christian Mazelle, Shaosui Xu, Robin Ramstad, Mats Holmström and Li-Jen Chen
Additional contact information
Chi Zhang: Boston University
Chuanfei Dong: Boston University
Hongyang Zhou: Boston University
Jasper Halekas: University of Iowa
Masatoshi Yamauchi: Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Hans Nilsson: Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Terry Z. Liu: University of California
Moa Persson: Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Shannon Curry: University of Colorado
Yaxue Dong: University of Colorado
Yoshifumi Futaana: Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Yuxi Chen: University of Michigan
Muni Zhou: Dartmouth College
Ruhunusiri Suranga: University of Colorado
Kathleen G. Hanley: University of California, Berkeley
Christian Mazelle: IRAP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS CNES
Shaosui Xu: University of California, Berkeley
Robin Ramstad: University of Colorado
Mats Holmström: Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Li-Jen Chen: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Atmospheric ion escape plays a crucial role in the evolution of planetary climate and habitability. While Mars has been the focus of extensive in-situ spacecraft observations, our understanding of ion escape at Mars has been constrained by single-point spacecraft measurements, which fail to distinguish spatial and temporal variability. Observations from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission and China’s Tianwen-1 mission provide complementary observations the Martian space environment and a unique opportunity to study the variability of ion escape. Here, we report that ion escape at Mars exhibits unexpected spatial-temporal variability under steady and weak external solar wind conditions. In the hemisphere where the solar wind electric field is directed toward the planet, a condition that usually hinders ion escape into space, we instead observe the transient appearance of escaping planetary ions with high energies and strong escape fluxes. This finding underscores that planetary ion escape can be unsteady and dynamic, even under stable external conditions.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58351-y

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