Astronomy current events question: martian atmosphere stripped by solar wind

Astronomy 210L, fall semester 2015
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students are assigned to read online articles on current astronomy events, and take a short current events quiz during the first 10 minutes of lab. (This motivates students to show up promptly to lab, as the time cut-off for the quiz is strictly enforced!)

Dwayne Brown, Laurie Cantillo, Nancy Neal-Jones, Bill Steigerwald, and Jim Scott, "NASA Mission Reveals Speed of Solar Wind Stripping Martian Atmosphere" (November 5, 2015)
nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-mission-reveals-speed-of-solar-wind-stripping-martian-atmosphere

Based on data from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, much of Mars' original atmosphere may have been removed by:
(A) the greenhouse effect.
(B) glaciers.
(C) volcanoes.
(D) solar winds.
(E) its ancient oceans and rivers.

Correct answer: (D)

Student responses
Sections 70178, 70186
(A) : 4 students
(B) : 0 students
(C) : 0 students
(D) : 27 students
(E) : 0 students