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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 coming out of a tube along magnetic structures called flux tubes. This so-called Zwan-Wolf effect aids in the deflection of solar wind around Earth and has been observed and studied there for decades. Now, a new study published in Nature Communications provides the first comprehensive observations of the same effect in Mars’ atmosphere.

“When investigating the data, I all of a sudden noticed some very interesting wiggles,” said Christopher Fowler, a research assistant professor at West Virginia University in Morgantown and lead author of the study. “I would never have guessed it would be this effect, since it’s never been seen in a planetary atmosphere before.”

The Zwan-Wolf effect was first discovered in 1976, and until now has only been observed in planetary magnetospheres, not their atmospheres. Unlike Earth, Mars is not protected by a global magnetic field, affecting how it interacts with the solar wind and space weather. In this new study, the Zwan-Wolf effect was observed in the ionosphere — deep within the Martian atmosphere below 200 km — which contains significant numbers of electrically charged particles. The data showed that these charged particles were being squeezed and distributed around Mars’ atmosphere.

Although Mars has an induced magnetosphere, a magnetic field generated by the solar wind interacting with the Martian ionosphere, it can greatly change in size and shape with large solar wind and space weather events. That is what Fowler and his team saw in the MAVEN data when a large solar storm hit Mars. Based on their findings, the Zwan-Wolf effect may be occurring constantly in the Martian ionosphere but at levels undetectable by MAVEN’s instrumentation. The impact of the space weather event appears to have amplified the effect, allowing the scientists to observe it in the data.

In the beginning, Fowler and his team came across some interesting-looking fluctuations in measurements of the magnetic field as the spacecraft flew through the atmosphere. To explain this, they dug into observations made by several instruments on MAVEN, including measurements of the charged particle environment in the ionosphere. Their sleuthing uncovered even more weird and interesting features in the data. After ruling out several other possibilities, the team was able to identify the culprit as the Zwan-Wolf effect, which explained all the features they were seeing.

“No one expected that this effect could even occur in the atmosphere,” said Fowler. “That’s what makes this even more exciting. It introduces interesting physics that we haven’t yet explored and a new way the Sun and space weather can change the dynamics in the Martian atmosphere.”

Understanding the Zwan-Wolf effect at Mars will further our understanding of how space weather affects the planet and provides new insight into how this effect might occur at similar unmagnetized bodies, such as Venus and Saturn’s moon Titan. Observations like this also highlight the importance of knowing how large space weather events can lead to changes in the environment at and around the Red Planet and potentially affect assets on or near Mars.

“Knowing how space weather interacts with Mars is essential,” said Shannon Curry, the principal investigator of MAVEN and research scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder. “The MAVEN team continues making new discoveries with our datasets and finding these links between our host star and the Red Planet.”

The MAVEN spacecraft launched in November 2013 and entered Mars’ orbit in September 2014. The mission’s goal is to explore the planet’s upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and interactions with the Sun and solar wind to explore the loss of the Martian atmosphere to space. Understanding atmospheric loss gives scientists insight into the history of the Red Planet’s atmosphere and climate, liquid water, and planetary habitability. The MAVEN spacecraft, in orbit around Mars, experienced a loss of signal with ground stations on Earth on Dec. 6, 2025. In Feb. 2026, NASA launched an anomaly review board to assess the probable current state of the spacecraft and the likelihood of its recovery.

The MAVEN mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. The mission’s principal investigator is based at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, which is also responsible for managing science operations and public outreach and communications. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the MAVEN mission. Lockheed Martin Space built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California provides navigation and Deep Space Network support.  

By Willow Reed
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder

Media contacts:

Karen Fox / Alana Johnson
Headquarters, Washington
240-285-5155 / 202-672-4780
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

Sarah Frazier
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov

The NASA-funded Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) has selected two early‑career scientists for its next class of postdoctoral fellows. The new fellows will begin their projects in May, focusing on space food systems and astronaut eye health.

The TRISH Postdoctoral Fellowship Program supports independent research that advances biomedical, behavioral, and technological approaches relevant to human space exploration. The selected projects should aim to reduce spaceflight-related health risks and improve human health on Earth.

The selected fellows are:

     Dr. Baiyang Liu
     Institution: Columbia University in New York City
     Project: Developing a Diazotrophic and Nutritionally Optimized Spirulina Strain for Extended      Space Missions
     Mentor: Dr. Harris Wang

     Dr. Dylan Pham     
     Institution: Texas A&M University in College Station
     Project: Impact of Simulated Microgravity and Aging on Ocular Artery and Neural Retina      Function
     Mentor: Dr. Travis Hein

“Our postdoctoral fellows bring new ideas, technical expertise, and energy to some of the most complex challenges in human spaceflight,” said Dr. Dorit Donoviel, executive director of TRISH and associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “By investing in the next generation, we are building the capability required to achieve a sustained presence on the Moon and extend human exploration deeper into space.”

A virtual institute, TRISH is empowered by NASA’s Human Research Program to help solve challenges of human deep space exploration. It pursues and funds research to deliver scientific and technological solutions that advance space health and help humans thrive wherever they explore, in space or on Earth.

____

NASA’s Human Research Program

NASA’s Human Research Program pursues methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, commercial missions, the International Space Station and Artemis missions, the program scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research drives the program’s quest to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy and mission ready as human space exploration expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

The heart of galaxy M77 shines brightly in this May 7, 2026, image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The intense glow is due to gas being pulled by the strong gravity of the central black hole into a tight and rapid orbit around it. The motion of the gas causes it to heat up, releasing tremendous amounts of radiation.

The bright lines radiating out of the center are diffraction spikes. The spikes are not a physical feature of the galaxy, but an optical effect caused by the telescope itself.

Read more about M77.

Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy

The 34th SpaceX commercial resupply mission under contract with NASA is headed to the International Space Station with new scientific experiments after lifting off at 6:05 p.m. EDT Friday on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The SpaceX spacecraft, loaded with nearly 6,500 pounds of cargo for the space station’s Expedition 74 crew, is scheduled to autonomously dock at about 7 a.m. Sunday, May 17, to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module.

Watch NASA’s live rendezvous and docking coverage beginning at 5:30 a.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

In addition to cargo for the crew aboard the space station, Dragon will deliver several new experiments, including a project to determine how well Earth-based simulators mimic microgravity conditions, a bone scaffold made from wood that could produce new treatments for fragile bone conditions like osteoporosis, and equipment to help researchers evaluate how red blood cells and the spleen change in space. The Dragon spacecraft also will carry a new instrument to study charged particles around Earth that can impact power grids and satellites, an investigation that could provide a fundamental understanding of how planets form, and an instrument designed to take highly accurate measurements of sunlight reflected by Earth and the Moon.

These experiments are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that aren’t possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the station until mid-June, when it will depart and return to Earth with time-sensitive research and cargo, ahead of splashing down off the coast of California.

Learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Danielle Sempsrott / Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
danielle.c.sempsrott@nasa.gov / leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

After NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover drilled a sample from this rock on April 25, 2026, it withdrew its robotic arm and pulled the entire rock off the surface with it. Engineers spent several days repositioning the arm and vibrating the drill to try and get the rock loose. When it finally detached on May 1, the rock broke into pieces.

This close-up image of the rock was produced by Curiosity’s Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on May 6. Nicknamed “Atacama,” the rock is estimated to be 1.5 feet in diameter at its base and 6 inches thick. It would weigh roughly 28.6 pounds on Earth (and about a third of that on Mars). The circular hole produced by Curiosity’s drill is visible in the rock.

See Atacama stuck on Curiosity’s drill.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Elon Musk's claim that he was mistreated by his OpenAI cofounders failed after nine California jurors decided in a unanimous verdict that his lawsuits had been filed too late.

The New York public healthcare system said hackers stole personal and medical data, and scans of biometrics — including fingerprints — in one of the largest recorded breaches of 2026.

The app is similar to a meeting notetaker: you can record doctor visits, and it will return an AI summary of the meeting, with the next steps, all of which you share with family and friends if you want to.

Amazon’s Alexa+ can now generate custom AI podcasts on demand, as the company expands its assistant into a personalized AI content platform.

The open source project said hackers stole its codebase and threatened to publish its source code if the company did not pay.