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Observations and Impacts of the 10 September 2017 Solar Events at Mars: An Overview and Synthesis of the Initial Results

Holmström, M.; Luhmann, J. G.; Halekas, J. S. +8 more

On 10 September 2017, some of the strongest solar activity occurred in association with active region 12673 (AR2673), including an X-class solar flare and a fast coronal mass ejection. Although AR2673 was not centrally facing Mars, the activity impacted the local space weather conditions at Mars. We give an overview of observations obtained from t…

Observations of the Proton Aurora on Mars With SPICAM on Board Mars Express

Rodriguez, L.; Montmessin, F.; Ritter, B. +2 more

We report observations of the proton aurora at Mars, obtained with the Spectroscopy for the Investigation of the Characteristics of the Atmosphere of Mars (SPICAM) ultraviolet spectrograph on board Mars Express between 2004 and 2011. This is a third type of UV aurora that is discovered on Mars, in addition to the discrete and diffuse nightside aur…

MARSIS Observations of the Martian Nightside Ionosphere During the September 2017 Solar Event

Gurnett, D. A.; Halekas, J. S.; Kopf, A. J. +5 more

We present topside ionospheric sounding on the nightside of Mars during the September 2017 solar event by Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) on board Mars Express along with complementary dayside observations from Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN). The MARSIS and MAVEN observations during the event sug…

Responses of the Martian Magnetosphere to an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection: MAVEN Observations and LatHyS Results

Holmström, M.; Luhmann, J. G.; Chaufray, J. -Y. +12 more

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft observed a strong interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) reaching Mars on 13 September 2017. In this work we analyze the interaction between such an extreme event and the Martian-induced magnetosphere by means of Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux et Observations Spatiales Hybrid Sim…

The September 2017 SEP Event in Context With the Current Solar Cycle: Mars Express ASPERA-3/IMA and MAVEN/SEP Observations

Holmström, Mats; Futaana, Yoshifumi; Ramstad, Robin +5 more

We use Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution/Solar Energetic Particle (MAVEN/SEP) data to estimate the ranges of particle energies that generate background noise in the Analyzer of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms-3/Ion Mass Analyzer (IMA) instrument on Mars Express. The particles that generate IMA background counts are estimated to be electrons…