NASA Spacecraft Reveals Dramatic Changes In Mars' Atmosphere

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Source:  NASA RELEASE: 11-118
Excerpt: NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has discovered the total amount of atmosphere on Mars changes dramatically as the tilt of the planet's axis varies. This process can affect the stability of liquid water if it exists on the Martian surface and increase the frequency and severity of Martian dust storms. …a large, buried deposit of frozen carbon dioxide, or dry ice, at the Red Planet's south pole … has a volume similar to Lake Superior's nearly 3,000 cubic miles. The deposit holds up to 80 percent as much carbon dioxide as today's Martian atmosphere.  …"When you include this buried deposit, Martian carbon dioxide right now is roughly half frozen and half in the atmosphere, but at other times it can be nearly all frozen or nearly all in the atmosphere," For more information about MRO, visit:www.nasa.gov/mro

www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/apr/HQ_11-118_Mars_Atmosphere.html

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