Abstract
Mars once had a dense atmosphere enabling liquid water existing on its
surface, however, much of that atmosphere has since escaped to space. We
examine how incoming solar and solar wind energy fluxes drive escape of
atomic and molecular oxygen ions (O+ and O2+) at Mars. We use MAVEN data
to evaluate ion escape from February 1, 2016 through May 25, 2022. We
find that Martian O+, and O2+ all have increased escape flux with
increased solar wind kinetic energy flux. Increased solar wind
electromagnetic energy flux also corresponds to increased O+ and O2+
escape flux. Increased solar irradiance (both total and ionizing) does
not obviously increase escape of O+ and O2+. Together, these results
suggest that the solar wind electromagnetic energy flux should be
considered along with the kinetic energy flux, and that other parameters
should be considered when evaluating solar irradiance’s impact on O+ and
O2+ escape.