Happy Mars Day, MAVEN! 🥳⁣ ⁣ A decade ago, on Sept. 21, 2014, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmospheric and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft entered orbit around Mars, beginning its ongoing exploration of the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere. The mission has produced a wealth of data about how Mars’ atmosphere responds to the Sun and solar wind, and how these interactions can explain the loss of the Martian atmosphere to space.⁣ ⁣ MAVEN captured this ultraviolet image of Mars’ northern hemisphere in January 2023 after Mars had passed the farthest point in its orbit from the Sun.⁣ ⁣ Image description: This ultraviolet image of Mars reveals hues of indigo, magenta, tan, white, and forest green. The rapidly changing seasons in the north polar region cause an abundance of white clouds. The deep canyons of Valles Marineris can be seen in tan at the lower left, along with many craters. Ozone, which appears magenta in this ultraviolet view, has built up during the northern winter’s chilly polar nights. It is...