Search Publications
Mars Express and Venus Express multi-point observations of geoeffective solar flare events in December 2006
Coates, A. J.; Kallio, E.; Fedorov, A. +50 more
In December 2006, a single active region produced a series of proton solar flares, with X-ray class up to the X9.0 level, starting on 5 December 2006 at 10:35 UT. A feature of this X9.0 flare is that associated MeV particles were observed at Venus and Mars by Venus Express (VEX) and Mars Express (MEX), which were ∼80° and ∼125° east of the flare s…
Methane in Martian atmosphere: Average spatial, diurnal, and seasonal behaviour
Geminale, A.; Formisano, V.; Giuranna, M.
A large number of spectra measured by the planetary Fourier spectrometer aboard the European Mars Express mission have been studied to identify the average properties of methane in the Martian atmosphere. Using the line at 3018 cm -1, we have studied the seasonal, diurnal, and spatial variations of methane through the analysis of large …
Correction of the ionospheric distortion on the MARSIS surface sounding echoes
Safaeinili, A.; Mouginot, J.; Kofman, W. +1 more
Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) on the Mars Express (MEX) spacecraft has made numerous measurements of the Martian surface and subsurface. However, all of these measurements are distorted by the ionosphere and must be compensated before any analysis. We have developed a technique to compensate for the ionospher…
Comparative analysis of Venus and Mars magnetotails
Coates, A. J.; Kallio, E.; Fedorov, A. +47 more
We have an unique opportunity to compare the magnetospheres of two non-magnetic planets as Mars and Venus with identical instrument sets Aspera-3 and Aspera-4 on board of the Mars Express and Venus Express missions. We have performed both statistical and case studies of properties of the magnetosheath ion flows and the flows of planetary ions behi…
Accurate Mars Express orbits to improve the determination of the mass and ephemeris of the Martian moons
Pätzold, M.; Rosenblatt, P.; Le Maistre, S. +5 more
The determination of the ephemeris of the Martian moons has benefited from observations of their plane-of-sky positions derived from images taken by cameras onboard spacecraft orbiting Mars. Images obtained by the Super Resolution Camera (SRC) onboard Mars Express (MEX) have been used to derive moon positions relative to Mars on the basis of a fit…
Observations of the north polar water ice annulus on Mars using THEMIS and TES
Bandfield, Joshua L.; Castaño, Rebecca; Titus, Timothy N. +2 more
The Martian seasonal CO2 ice caps advance and retreat each year. In the spring, as the CO2 cap gradually retreats, it leaves behind an extensive defrosting zone from the solid CO2 cap to the location where all CO2 frost has sublimated. We have been studying this phenomenon in the north polar region using…
The imaging performance of the SRC on Mars Express
Williams, D.; Jaumann, R.; Oberst, J. +14 more
The Mars Express spacecraft carries the pushbroom scanner high-resolution stereo camera (HRSC) and its added imaging subsystem super resolution channel (SRC). The SRC is equipped with its own optical system and a 1024×1024 framing sensor. SRC produces snapshots with 2.3 m ground pixel size from the nominal spacecraft pericenter height of 250 km, w…
Field-aligned currents and parallel electric field potential drops at Mars. Scaling from the Earth’ aurora
Woch, J.; Dubinin, E.; Fraenz, M. +1 more
The observations of electron inverted 'V' structures by the MGS and MEX spacecraft, their resemblance to similar events in the auroral regions of the Earth, and the discovery of strong localized magnetic field sources of the crustal origin on Mars, raised hypotheses on the existence of Martian aurora produced by electron acceleration in parallel e…
Identification of a new outflow channel on Mars in Syrtis Major Planum using HRSC/MEx data
Mangold, N.; Neukum, G.; Hiesinger, H. +6 more
Syrtis Major Planum is a volcanic plain dominated by lava flows. High resolution stereo camera (HRSC) images of the northern Syrtis Major region display erosional features such as grooves, teardrop-shaped islands and valleys. These landforms are characteristics of outflow channels seen on Mars, therefore implying that a flood event took place in t…
Suprathermal electron fluxes on the nightside of Mars: ASPERA-3 observations
Barabash, S.; Lundin, R.; Woch, J. +4 more
Recently aurora-type UV emissions were discovered on the nightside of Mars [Bertaux, J.-L., Leblanc, F., Witasse, O., et al., 2005. Discovery of an aurora on Mars. Nature 439, doi:10.1038/nature03603]. It was suggested that these emissions are produced by suprathermal electrons with energies of tens of eV, rather than by the electrons with spectra…