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Mars Under Primordial Solar Wind Conditions: Mars Express Observations of the Strongest CME Detected at Mars Under Solar Cycle #24 and its Impact on Atmospheric Ion Escape

Barabash, Stas; Nilsson, Hans; Holmström, Mats +3 more

An extremely strong Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) impacted Mars on 12 July 2011, while the Mars Express spacecraft was present inside the nightside ionosphere. Estimated solar wind density and speed during the event are 39 particles cm^-3 and 730 km/s, corresponding to nominal solar wind flux at Mars when the solar system was ∼1.1 Ga old. …

Dynamic response of the Martian ionosphere to an interplanetary shock: Mars Express and MAVEN observations

Gurnett, D. A.; Halekas, J. S.; Kopf, A. J. +10 more

Multipoint observations from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) instrument on board Mars Express and the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission reveal a dynamic response of the Martian ionosphere to abrupt variations in the upstream solar wind plasma. On 2 February 2017, MAVEN, located upstream …

Radar sounder evidence of thick, porous sediments in Meridiani Planum and implications for ice-filled deposits on Mars

Grant, John A.; Plaut, Jeffrey J.; Phillips, Roger J. +5 more

Meridiani Planum is one of the most intensely studied regions on Mars, yet little is known about the physical properties of the deposits below those examined by the Opportunity rover. We report the detection of subsurface echoes within the Meridiani Planum deposits from data obtained by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Soundi…