The Opportunity rover has been exploring the Red Planet since 2004 and there were no prerequisites that it would not be able to continue its activities. However, in 2018, a sandstorm raged on the surface of the planet, which led to the death of the mechanical device. Dust likely completely covered Opportunity's solar panels, causing a loss of power. One way or another, in February 2019, the American space agency NASA declared the rover dead. Now scientists say that water could have been removed from the surface of Mars in a similar way. This conclusion was reached by NASA researchers familiar with data obtained from the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO).
Researchers believe that in the past, Mars had a fairly dense atmosphere and approximately 20% of the planet's surface was covered with liquid water. About 4 billion years ago, the Red Planet lost its magnetic field, after which its protection from destructive solar winds weakened, leading to the loss of most of its atmosphere.
These processes have made the water on the planet's surface vulnerable. Data obtained from TGO observations suggest that dust storms are to blame for the disappearance of water from the Red Planet. In normal times, water particles in the atmosphere are within 20 km of the planet's surface, while during the dust storm that killed Opportunity, TGO detected water molecules at an altitude of 80 km. At this altitude, water molecules are separated into hydrogen and oxygen, filled with solar particles. Being in higher layers of the atmosphere, water becomes much lighter, which could contribute to its removal from the surface of Mars.
Source: 3dnews.ru