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Observations of the nightside ionosphere of Mars by the Mars Express Radio Science Experiment (MaRS)
Hinson, D. P.; Witasse, O.; Withers, Paul +7 more
The vertical structure of the nightside ionosphere of Mars and its dependence on solar zenith angle are currently poorly determined, as is the importance of two key sources of nightside plasma, electron precipitation and transport of dayside plasma. We examined 37 electron density profiles of the ionosphere of Mars at solar zenith angles of 101°-1…
Computing uncertainties in ionosphere-airglow models: II. The Martian airglow
Simon Wedlund, Cyril; Witasse, Olivier; Gronoff, Guillaume +3 more
One of the objectives of spectrometers onboard space missions is to retrieve atmospheric parameters (notably density, composition and temperature). To fulfill this objective, comparisons between observations and model results are necessary. Knowledge of these model uncertainties is therefore necessary, although usually not considered, to estimate …
Enhanced atmospheric oxygen outflow on Earth and Mars driven by a corotating interaction region
Barabash, S.; Lundin, R.; Woch, J. +10 more
Solar wind controls nonthermal escape of planetary atmospheric volatiles, regardless of the strength of planetary magnetic fields. For both Earth with a strong dipole and Mars with weak remnant fields, the oxygen ion (O+) outflow has been separately found to be enhanced during corotating interaction region (CIR) passage. Here we compare…
Numerical simulation of the effects of a solar energetic particle event on the ionosphere of Mars
Simon Wedlund, C.; Haider, S. A.; Withers, Paul +5 more
We investigate the ionospheric effects of a solar energetic particle (SEP) event at Mars, specifically the 29 September 1989 event. We use its energy spectrum and a steady state ionospheric model to simulate vertical profiles of ion and electron densities. The ionospheric response to this large event would have been readily observable. It caused e…
A case study of proton precipitation at Mars: Mars Express observations and hybrid simulations
Kallio, E.; Fedorov, A.; Barabash, S. +8 more
Using the data from the Analyzer of Space Plasma and Energetic Atoms (ASPERA-3) experiment on board Mars Express and hybrid simulations, we have investigated the entry of protons into the Martian induced magnetosphere. We discuss one orbit on the dayside with observations of significant proton fluxes at altitudes down to 260 km on 27 February 2004…