Search Publications
The morphology of the topside ionosphere of Mars under different solar wind conditions: Results of a multi-instrument observing campaign by Mars Express in 2010
Fränz, M.; Pätzold, M.; Wild, J. A. +17 more
Since the internally-generated magnetic field of Mars is weak, strong coupling is expected between the solar wind, planetary magnetosphere, and planetary ionosphere. However, few previous observational studies of this coupling incorporated data that extended from the solar wind to deep into the ionosphere. Here we use solar wind, magnetosphere, an…
A novel method for surface exploration: Super-resolution restoration of Mars repeat-pass orbital imagery
Tao, Y.; Muller, J. -P.
Higher resolution imaging data of planetary surfaces is considered desirable by the international community of planetary scientists interested in improving understanding of surface formation processes. However, given various physical constraints from the imaging instruments through to limited bandwidth of transmission one needs to trade-off spatia…
The color ratio-intensity relation in the Jovian aurora: Hubble observations of auroral components
Bonfond, B.; Gérard, J. -C.; Grodent, D. +1 more
Spectral observations made with the long slit of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on board Hubble have been used to construct spectral maps of the FUV Jovian aurora. They reveal that the amount of absorption by overlying methane shows significant spatial variations. In this report, we examine the relationship between the auroral bri…
InSight coordinates determination from direct-to-Earth radio-tracking and Mars topography model
Le Maistre, Sébastien
The InSight mission is planned to land on the surface of Mars in September 2016. Close to the equator in Elysium Planitia, in the vicinity of the Curiosity location, the exact landing site coordinates cannot be provided by the navigation team. The direct-to-Earth (DTE) Doppler measurements are rarely included in the early lander localization proce…
Long-term nadir observations of the O2 dayglow by SPICAM IR
Montmessin, F.; Fedorova, A.; Korablev, O. +4 more
The O2(a1Δg) dayglow at the 1.27 µm band on Mars is produced by the solar UV photolysis of ozone and quenched in collisions with CO2. The SPICAM IR instrument onboard the Mars Express orbiter observes the O2(a1Δg) emission in the Martian atmosphere starting from 200…
Isotopic ratio of nitrogen on Titan: Photochemical interpretation
Krasnopolsky, Vladimir A.
Nitrogen isotope fractionation in predissociation of N2 (Liang et al., 2007) is combined with production of N(4S), N(2D), and N+ in dissociation and dissociative ionization by the solar EUV photons, photoelectrons, magnetospheric electrons and protons, and cosmic rays from the photochemical model. The ca…
The effect of the induced magnetic field on the electron density vertical profile of the Mars' ionosphere: A Mars Express MARSIS radar data analysis and interpretation, a case study
Lester, M.; Ramírez-Nicolás, M.; Sánchez-Cano, B. +3 more
We report the indirect detection of an induced magnetic field in the ionosphere of Mars and its effects on the electron density behaviour. The observations were made by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) aboard Mars Express, in its Active Ionospheric Sounding mode. During several orbits on June 2006, the ionos…
Asteroid orbits with Gaia using random-walk statistical ranging
Muinonen, Karri; Fedorets, Grigori; Pentikäinen, Hanna +10 more
We describe statistical inverse methods for the computation of initial asteroid orbits within the data processing and analysis pipeline of the ESA Gaia space mission. Given small numbers of astrometric observations across short time intervals, we put forward a random-walk ranging method, in which the orbital-element phase space is uniformly sample…
IR heterodyne spectrometer MILAHI for continuous monitoring observatory of Martian and Venusian atmospheres at Mt. Haleakalā, Hawaii
Aoki, Shohei; Kasaba, Yasumasa; Taguchi, Makoto +11 more
A new Mid-Infrared Laser Heterodyne Instrument (MILAHI) with >106 resolving power at 7-12 µm was developed for continuous monitoring of planetary atmospheres by using dedicated ground-based telescopes for planetary science at Mt. Haleakalā, Hawaii. Room-temperature-type quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) that cover wavelength ranges…
Analytical model of Europa's O2 exosphere
Mura, Alessandro; Plainaki, Christina; Milillo, Anna +5 more
The origin of the exosphere of Europa is its water ice surface. The existing exosphere models, assuming either a collisionless environment (simple Monte Carlo techniques) or a kinetic approach (Direct Monte Carlo Method) both predict that the major constituent of the exosphere is molecular oxygen. Specifically, O2 is generated at the su…