NASA to reveal new findings on Mars' atmosphere

In this artist concept provided by NASA, the MAVEN spacecraft approaches Mars on a mission to study its upper atmosphere. (AP/NASA)

Another major Mars announcement is on its way, NASA says, and this time it has something to do with the red planet's "extremely-thin" atmosphere.

The agency plans to unveil "key science findings" about the Martian atmosphere on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET, a NASA press release says.

The statement is light on details, but it does say the news briefing concerns the "fate" of the atmosphere.

It also says that scientists from NASA's MAVEN mission, or Mars Atmospheric and Volatile EvolutioN mission, are scheduled to speak.

While it's unclear exactly what NASA has up its sleeve, the agency's website says the MAVEN mission is dedicated to investigating the planet's atmosphere to help "understand dramatic climate change on the red planet."

Scientists believe that, billions of years ago, Mars' atmosphere was much denser.

If it was indeed more similar to Earth's atmosphere, the conditions on Mars would have allowed for large bodies of water on its surface, and, possibly, life.

But then the Martian atmosphere changed dramatically.

Today, it is about 100 times thinner than Earth's, and made up of about 96 per cent carbon dioxide, less than two per cent argon, less than two per cent nitrogen, and less than one per cent other gases.

NASA launched the MAVEN spacecraft on Nov. 18, 2013, to investigate how fast atmospheric gases are being lost to space today.

Using this information, NASA hopes to piece together a picture of how atmospheric changes affected the planet's climate, geologic, and geochemical conditions over time.

Understanding these changes, the agency's website says, "(is) important to understanding whether Mars had an environment able to support life."

Given this, some space enthusiasts are already predicting that Thursday's announcement could provide some answers about how the atmosphere went from dense to thin – and what that says about whether life could have once existed on the planet.

To tune into the NASA briefing live at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, visit the NASA TV website.