Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
NASA confirms a planet-wide electric field subtly lifting Earth’s atmosphere into space—solving a 60-year mystery, as detailed in Nature by Endurance mission scientists.
Credit: NASA
Since the 1960s, scientists puzzled over icy air escaping Earth at supersonic speeds. Now they’ve traced it to a faint electric force barely stronger than a watch battery.
Credit: NASA
The field clocks in at just 0.55 volts—yet in the thin upper ionosphere, it’s enough to overcome gravity and propel hydrogen into space, as NASA’s 2022 rocket showed.
Credit: NASA
Described as a “conveyor belt” by principal investigator Dr. Glyn Collinson, the field steadily pushes particles skyward—driving long-term atmospheric loss.
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Like magnetism and gravity, this newly confirmed electric field has been shaping Earth’s skies for eons—likely influencing climate and air composition over deep time.
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With a 271% jump in ion density at higher altitudes, NASA’s Endurance mission proved that Earth is leaking atmosphere in a slow, silent stream toward space.
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Gravity, magnetism, and now this third energy field form a triad of global forces—fundamental to Earth’s behavior and potentially to other planets too.
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Similar fields may exist on Mars or Venus. Understanding Earth’s escape mechanism helps decode lost atmospheres—and hunt for habitable worlds beyond.
This faint field could rewrite planetary science, hinting at how life-supporting conditions arise—or vanish—on planets across the galaxy.
Credit: NASA