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Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves Spur Plasma Clouds, Accelerate Mars Atmosphere Loss

8/5/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. scientist Chi Zhang reported Kelvin-Helmholtz waves generate plasma clouds that eject Mars’s atmosphere.
The discovery links solar-wind changes to loss using MAVEN and Tianwen-1 data.
Bursting clouds release 10-100 × more gas than steady channels and form where fast solar wind meets slower Martian ions.
Authors note the clouds are smaller, appear mainly on one side set by solar-wind electric field, and will be monitored by ESCAPADE after MAVEN ends.

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Story summary

U.S. scientist Chi Zhang reported Kelvin-Helmholtz waves generate plasma clouds that eject Mars’s atmosphere.
The discovery links solar-wind changes to loss using MAVEN and Tianwen-1 data.
Bursting clouds release 10-100 × more gas than steady channels and form where fast solar wind meets slower Martian ions.
Authors note the clouds are smaller, appear mainly on one side set by solar-wind electric field, and will be monitored by ESCAPADE after MAVEN ends.