A review of observed variability in the dayside ionosphere of Mars

Recent measurements by Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express have greatly increased the number of observations of the martian dayside ionosphere available for study. Together with earlier measurements from the Viking era, these datasets have been used to investigate variations in well-known properties of the martian dayside ionosphere and to discover new ionospheric features. The dayside ionosphere includes the main peak, called the M2 layer, and a lower layer, called the M1 layer. In the topside, above the M2 layer, electron densities exponentially decrease with increasing altitude.     

Mars Express/ASPERA-3/NPI and IMAGE/LENA observations of energetic neutral atoms in Earth and Mars orbit

The low energy neutral atom imagers on Mars Express and IMAGE have revealed that the neutral atom populations in interplanetary space come from a variety of sources and challenge our current understanding of heliospheric physics. For example, both in cruise phase and at Mars, the neutral particle instrument NPD on Mars Express observed “unexplained neutral beams” unrelated to Mars which appear to be either of heliospheric or solar wind origin. Likewise, the NPI instrument on Mars Express has revealed streams of neutral atoms with different properties than those observed by NPD. Independently, IMAGE/LENA has reported neutral atom observations that may be interpreted as a “secondary stream” having different characteristics and flowing from a higher ecliptic longitude than the nominal upstream direction. Both sets of observations do not appear to fit in easily with the neutral atom environment from 1.0 to 1.57 AU as it is currently understood. In this paper, we examine some highly suggestive similarities in the IMAGE/LENA and Mars Express/ASPERA-3/NPI data to try to determine potential origins for the observed signal.     

Network science landers for Mars

The NetLander Mission will deploy four landers to the Martian surface. Each lander includes a network science payload with instrumentation for studying the interior of Mars, the atmosphere and the subsurface, as well as the ionospheric structure and geodesy. The NetLander Mission is the first planetary mission focusing on investigations of the interior of the planet and the large-scale circulation of the atmosphere. A broad consortium of national space agencies and research laboratories will implement the mission. It is managed by CNES (the French Space Agency), with other major players being FMI (the Finnish Meteorological Institute), DLR (the German Space Agency), and other research institutes. According to current plans, the NetLander Mission will be launched in 2005 by means of an Ariane V launch, together with the Mars Sample Return mission. The landers will be separated from the spacecraft and targeted to their locations on the Martian surface several days prior to the spacecraft's arrival at Mars. The landing system employs parachutes and airbags. During the baseline mission of one Martian year, the network payloads will conduct simultaneous seismological, atmospheric, magnetic, ionospheric, geodetic measurements and ground penetrating radar mapping supported by panoramic images. The payloads also include entry phase measurements of the atmospheric vertical structure. The scientific data could be combined with simultaneous observations of the atmosphere and surface of Mars by the Mars Express Orbiter that is expected to be functional during the NetLander Mission's operational phase. Communication between the landers and the Earth would take place via a data relay onboard the Mars Express Orbiter.     

A new Mars radiation environment model with visualization.

A new model for the radiation environment to be found on the planet Mars due to Galactic Cosmic Rays (OCR) has been developed at the NASA Langley Research Center. Solar modulated primary particles rescaled for Mars conditions are transported through the Martian atmosphere, with temporal properties modeled with variable timescales, down to the surface, with altitude and backscattering patterns taken into account. The Martian atmosphere has been modeled by using the Mars Global Reference Atmospheric Model--version 2001 (Mars-GRAM 2001). The altitude to compute the atmospheric thickness profile has been determined by using a model for the topography based on the data provided by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) instrument on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft. The Mars surface composition has been modeled based on averages over the measurements obtained from orbiting spacecraft and at various landing sites, taking into account the possible volatile inventory (e.g., CO2 ice, H2O ice) along with its time variation throughout the Martian year. Particle transport has been performed with the HZETRN heavy ion code. The Mars Radiation Environment Model has been made available worldwide through the Space Ionizing Radiation Effects and Shielding Tools (SIREST) website, a project of NASA Langley Research Center.     

The optical constants of gypsum particles as analog of Martian sulfates

Various indications seem to suggest that in the past the Martian climate allowed the presence of liquid water on the surface of the planet. It is therefore reasonable to think that bodies of standing water were once present in basins such as craters or depressions and that evaporite deposits of sulfates could have formed in these basins. The identification of such deposits, which might have survived in some regions of the planet, could confirm the present hypothesis about the ancient climate on Mars. Recent analyses of Mars spectra, obtained by ground-based observations, show bands consistent with sulfate features. If such data have to be interpreted with the aid of synthetic spectra, the knowledge of the complex refractive index of some sulfate is necessary. In this work we present the optical constants of submicron particles of gypsum (a typical hydrate–sulfate very common on Earth), derived by means of the dispersion theory from transmission spectra. We have performed the calculation of the optical constants in the wavelength range 2–70 μm, also in view of the wide spectral range covered by the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) on board of the ESA space mission Mars Express. The data have been compared with optical constants obtained by other authors from reflectance measurements of particulate samples.     

Atmospheric photochemistry above possible martian hot spots

Considering the possibility of outgassing from some localized sources on Mars, we have developed a one-dimensional photochemical model that includes methane (CH₄), sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). Halogens were considered but were found to have no significant impact on the martian atmospheric chemistry. We find that the introduction of methane into the martian atmosphere results in the formation of mainly formaldehyde (CH₂O), methyl alcohol (CH₃OH) and ethane (C₂H₆), whereas the introduction of the sulfur species produces mainly sulfur monoxide (SO) and sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). Depending upon the flux of the outgassed molecules from possible hot spots, some of these species and the resulting new molecules may be detectable locally, either by remote sensing (e.g., with the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer on Mars Express) or in situ measurements.     

一种火星大气密度三维解析模型

根据火星大气数据库,建立了以高度和经纬度为输入的火星三维解析大气密度模型;在竖直方向上,采用分层指数模型;在水平方向上,将指数模型中的参考密度和参考高度视为经纬度的多项式函数,并通过最小二乘曲面拟合得到了多项式系数。相比传统的指数模型,三维指数模型不仅反映了火星大气密度随高度的变化规律,而且能够体现出大气密度在水平方向上的变化。与大气数据库相比,三维密度模型具有解析形式,计算速度快,仿真过程中只需存储简单的多项式系数即可实现密度的实时计算和调用,适用于地面实时仿真。     

γ-ray spectroscopy in Mars orbit during solar proton events

Understanding the evolution of Mars requires determining the composition of the surface and atmosphere of the planet. The European Space Agency’s ExoMars rover mission, which is expected to launch in 2016, is part of the Aurora programme. The instruments on the rover will search for evidence of life on Mars and will map a sub-section of the Martian surface, extracting compositional information. Currently our understanding of the bulk composition (and mineralogy) of Mars relies on orbital data from instruments on-board satellites such as 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Express, in addition to in-situ instrumentation on rovers such as Spirit and Opportunity. γ-ray spectroscopy can be used to determine the composition of Mars, but it has yet to be successfully carried out in-situ on Mars. This study describes some of the results obtained from the γ-ray spectrometer on 2001 Mars Odyssey during solar proton events and discusses whether the increased emissions are useful in γ-ray spectroscopy. The study shows that although increased γ-ray emissions were expected from the Martian surface during a solar proton event, they were not detected from orbit probably due to insufficient signal-to-background. However, this does not preclude the possibility of measuring changes in γ-ray flux corresponding to changes in solar activity on the surface of the planet.     

An innovative navigation scheme of powered descent phase for Mars pinpoint landing

Pinpoint landing (within 100 m from the target) is essential for future Mars exploration missions. This paper deals with one aspect of the pinpoint landing architecture—the navigation performance improvement during the powered descent phase, and proposes an innovative navigation scheme to obtain the vehicle complete and accurate states. On the basis of dead reckoning relying on the Inertial Measurement Unit, measurements of the Integrated Doppler Radar are adopted to correct the vehicle velocity and altitude. Distance between the vehicle and one Mars Orbiter as well as their line-of-sight relative velocity is measured by a radio sensor, and integrated in the filter to correct the vehicle horizontal position. The innovative navigation system is based on an Extend Kalman Filter. Two observation schemes are developed. One considers measurements of the Integrated Doppler Radar and radio range measurement. Another further considers radio velocity measurement. The performance of the innovative navigation scheme is greatly influenced by the position of the Mars Orbiter with respect to the target. Stochastic analyses are performed to obtain optimal locations of Mars Orbiter. Finally, the innovative navigation scheme performances are assessed through stochastic simulations. Its performance improvements are demonstrated by comparison with the Integrated Doppler Radar only navigation scheme.     

Navigation for balloon payloads: Recent experience with OMEGA in the US and a new slant range system

The replacement of OMEGA station G from Trinidad to Australia has recently caused some problems for balloon navigation in the United States. We report on recent experience with OMEGA during a balloon flight of the hard X-ray astronomy payload HEXE¹⁾ from Palestine, Texas on September 28/29, 1981. In this flight three different OMEGA receivers were used. In view of the degraded receiving conditions for OMEGA we have developed a simple slant range system which may easily be adapted to other standard PCM systems. We show that a combination of range, azimuth and one OMEGA line of position (e.g. C-D) provides reasonably accurate balloon positions.     

Balloon-borne far-infrared spectrophotometry of the galactic center region

Far-infrared observations of the Galactic Center have been carried through with the MPE Im balloon-borne telescope “Golden Dragon”. The measurements are composed of photometric scanning (33–95 μm) of the inner 4′×4′ and low resolution spectroscopy (δ^ν = 10 cm^?1) of the center and of a position approximately 1.5′ to the north. A Mars spectrum has been obtained for calibration. The spatial resolution of the photometry map is increased using the Maximum Entropy Method and the resulting map is compared to other observations in the same and other spectral regions. A clear asymmetry in the ring-like structure around the center indicates the presence of noncircular motions. The shape of the spectra is fairly smooth with at least no prominent dust features. A simple modelling shows a drastic increase of column density within 2 pc from the center and a modest drop over the next 3 pc to the north.     

Mars Global Surveyor aerobraking: Atmospheric trends and model interpretation

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) recently obtained coordinated lower-atmosphere (thermal and dust) measurements and simultaneous upper atmosphere accelerometer data (densities, scale heights and temperatures) for the purpose of safely aerobraking the spacecraft toward its mapping orbit (Keating et al. 1998). Much useful scientific information was also gleaned that describes the coupling of these atmospheric regions during this Phase I aerobraking period (September 1997–March 1998; Ls = 184–300). The major features of this aerobraking data are presented, and its trends elucidated in order to: (1) illustrate the aerobraking environment experienced by the spacecraft, and (2) decompose the processes responsible for the atmospheric variations observed. Coupled general circulation models of the Mars lower and upper atmospheres are exercised to investigate the solar-orbital, seasonal, wave, and dust variations observed during MGS aerobraking. The precession of the MGS periapsis position during Phase I permits longitudinal, latitudinal, local time, and vertical variations of the thermosphere to be monitored. Future aerobraking activities at Mars will benefit greatly from this MGS aerobraking data and its model interpretation.     

Search for organic molecules at the Mars surface: The “Martian Organic Material Irradiation and Evolution” (MOMIE) project

The life on Mars remains an open question because of the lack of proof of its past emergence and its current presence. The only indices of a potential Martian life were provided by the Viking Landers, and the study of the Martian meteorite ALH84001 discovered in the Antarctic. In the two case, the results of experiments could be explained either by the presence of life forms or by abiotic processes. The recent data of Mars Express orbiter and Mars Exploration Rovers show different proofs of a past environment favourable for life. Among the targets we seek, the organic molecules are primordial because they are necessary to the origin of life. A key question is to know if they are present, in which concentration and under which form. Within the framework of a search for organic, we are developing an experimental setup simulating as close as possible the environmental conditions of Mars surface in order to determine how organic species evolve. We present here the first step of the development of this experiment which focuses on the study of the impact of the solar UV radiations reaching the Mars surface on glycine. First results show that glycine does not resist if directly exposed to UV radiations.     

Neutral upper atmospheres of Venus and Mars

Numerous measurements of the neutral upper atmosphere above 100 km have been made from spacecraft over Venus and over Mars. The Venus exospheric temperatures are unexpectedly low (less than 300°K near noon and less than 130°K near midnight). These very low temperatures may be partially caused by collisional excitation of CO₂ vibrational states by atomic oxygen and partially by eddy cooling. The Venus atmosphere is unexpectedly insensitive to solar EUV variability. On the other hand, the Martian dayside exospheric temperature varies from 150°K to 400°K over the 11-year solar cycle, where CO₂ 15-μm cooling may be less effective because of lower atomic oxygen mixing ratios. On Venus, temperature increases with altitude on the dayside (thermosphere), but decreases with altitude from 100 to 150 km on the nightside (cryosphere). However, dayside Martian temperatures near solar minimum for maximum planet-sun distance and low solar activity are essentially isothermal from 40 km to 200 km. During high solar activity, the thermospheric temperatures of Mars sharply increase. The Venus neutral upper atmosphere contains CO₂, O, CO, C, N₂, N, He, H, D and hot nonthermal H, O, C, and N, while the dayside Mars neutral upper atmosphere contains CO₂, O, O₂, CO, C, N₂, He, H, and Ar. There is evidence on Venus for inhibited day-to-night transport as well as superrotation of the upper atmosphere. Both atmospheres have substantial wave activity. Various theoretical models used to interpret the planetary atmospheric data are discussed.     

Structure of the Martian atmosphere from ε-Gem occultation observations

We have collected information about Martian atmospheric scale heights derived from observations of the occultation of ? Gem by Mars on April 8, 1976. The observations give data in the altitude range ～50 to 80 km. A rough, unweighted average of results so far available yields a temperature of ～165°K. Excursions of ～±40°K about this mean may be present as a function of both altitude and areographic coordinates.     

Two-spacecraft observations of reconnection at the magnetopause: Model results and data comparison

We revisit an example of “quasi-steady” magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause on February 11, 1998, observed by Equator-S and Geotail at the dawnside magnetopause. Phan et al. [Phan, T.D. et al., 2000. Extended magnetic reconnection at the Earth’s magnetopause from detection of bi-directional jets. Nature 404, 848–850.] reported oppositely directed jets at these spacecrafts and inferred a length of the reconnection line of about 38R_E. Pinnock et al. [Pinnock, M., Chisham, G., Coleman, I.J., Freeman, M.P., Hairston, M., Villain, J.-P., 2003. The location and rate of dayside reconnection during an interval of southward interplanetary magnetic field. Ann. Geophys. 21, 1467–1482.] used measurements from SuperDARN radars to show that the reconnection electric field was variable. Here we complement this work by obtaining snapshots of the reconnection electric field from the in situ observations. To do this, we apply a reconstruction method based on a model of compressible Petschek-type magnetic reconnection. This independent method uses magnetic field observations as input data to calculate the reconnection electric field. We obtain average values of E_rec in the range of 0.4–2.4 mV/m. Further we infer a distance perpendicular to the reconnection line of 0.4–0.6R_E. The model results are compared with the two studies mentioned above. It thus appears that while the transfer of momentum for this event is indeed large-scale, the actual rate depends on the time it is measured.     

Assimilation of Mars Global Surveyor meteorological data

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mission is more than just a return to Mars. It represents a qualitatively new type of planetary mission. This is true not only because of the capable instrumentation aboard the spacecraft and the choice of orbit and data rate, but also because of a major beneficial change in our understanding of the interplay between observation and modeling. The Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES), for example, is capable of taking thousands of infrared spectra per day. The 15 micrometer carbon dioxide band in these spectra can be inverted to obtain atmospheric temperature profiles, amounting to some 15,000–25,000 separate measurements each day. In addition, radio occultations produce fewer, but much higher resolution, temperature and pressure profiles. How is such a quantity of data to be handled? Clearly not in the old-fashioned manner in which a single profile is studied at great length and detail. The quantity of data does not allow this; and the quality of the data does not support it. (A single atmospheric profile is bound to contain small-scale spatial and temporal variation—e.g., gravity waves—that cannot be removed unambiguously, as well as possible errors due to noise in the observations or non-uniqueness of the inversions). Furthermore, much of the atmospheric science of interest (winds, for example) depends on quantities like horizontal temperature gradients that are not directly observed. Instead, the data should be examined collectively with the aid of a model that incorporates our knowledge of the governing physics. Described here are the first results of such a data assimilation exercise with TES observations during the aerobraking hiatus period at L_s ≈ 200.     

火星探测UHF频段原位通信关键技术研究

火星是人类探索太阳系的下一个里程碑,由于地球和火星之间的距离非常遥远（最远距离约4亿千米,光行时约22min）,为了最大限度地完成火星车和地球之间的高效通信,火星车和火星环绕器之间的器间原位中继通信技术就显得尤为重要。针对大椭圆轨道下器间通信信噪比低、信号参数变化快、全自主要求高及质量功耗约束极为严苛等难点,提出了一种UHF频段器间原位通信技术,主要包括超高灵敏度高动态自适应信号解调、高精度多普勒测量、基于CCSDS Proximity-1的协议一体化集成融合和面向火星复杂环境的高集成度高收发隔离产品工程化设计,实现了捕获灵敏度优于-141dBm、解调灵敏度（1kbit/s）优于-134dBm、频率动态范围优于±26kHz、多普勒测量精度优于10mHz、收发隔离大于180dB、弧段内全自主高可靠高吞吐率通信及基于架构统型的系统/单机极限优化,相关指标优于美国系列火星探测器中的“Electra”。经祝融号火星车和天问一号火星环绕器、ESA“Mars Express”火星轨道器在轨实际测试,测试数据符合预期,为中国首次火星探测的圆满成功做出了重要贡献。     

Search for methane on Mars: Observations,interpretation and future work

The detection of methane on Mars has been reported by three different teams in 2004. Two of them used ground-based high-resolution spectroscopy in the near infrared range. The third one used the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer aboard Mars Express. Among the data sets, two of them reported a mean CH₄ mixing ratio of 10 ppb. However, these are marginal detections, which should be considered as tentative. The third (ground-based) data set, unpublished so far, seems to show evidence for strong localized sources of CH₄, corresponding to mixing ratios as high as 250 ppb in some cases. However, the high values reported in 2003 were not confirmed by subsequent observations performed by the PFS instrument in 2004. In the absence of a refereed publication, it is difficult to judge if the high values are indeed correct. Assuming that they are, the lack of their confirmation by the PFS could have several explanations, including, among others, localized transient vents, or time variations in the methane destruction rate. A biogenic source was first suggested for the martian methane. However, later studies showed that an abiotic source such as hydrogeology can be just as effective. Further dedicated observations are obviously needed to firm up the detection and distribution of methane on Mars.