Abstract:
Venus, Earth, and Mars are "natural experiments" in terrestrial planet atmospheric evolution, each providing a unique window into how a planet's volatile inventory is shaped by planetary and stellar properties. These objects host the only terrestrial planet thermosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere systems we can measure in situ, and exhibit an interesting collection of magnetization states, rotation rates, and masses that make each a unique laboratory for study of fundamental atmospheric and heliophysics processes. Some of these processes have shaped the evolution of these planets' water inventory, with substantial implications for planetary habitability in general--- as is the case with thermal and nonthermal water loss at Venus and Mars. I will describe the recent revolution in understanding of seasonally-variable water loss at Mars, which is now known to be controlled by a combination of lower, middle, and upper atmospheric processes. A similar revolution in understanding may be possible at Venus, but only if the currently planned Venus missions are augmented by a heliophysics-focused mission targeting understanding of the planet's unique thermosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere system, which mediates water escape to space. I will describe one concept for such a future mission. Future comparative studies of the atmosphere-space interface on Mars, Earth, and Venus are essential to understanding the fundamental processes that control terrestrial planet volatile evolution and habitability.
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