Mars’ plasma system. Scientific potential of coordinated multipoint missions: "The next generation"Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, CA, Berkeley, United States.
Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France.
Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, CA, Berkeley, United States.
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, CO, Boulder, United States.
Space Research Institute of Russian academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation.
Boston University, MA, Boston, United States.
European Space Research and Technology Center, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, Netherlands.
School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, Hefei, China.
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Toulouse, France.
Department of Planetary Research, Rhenish Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Department of Planetary Research, Rhenish Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Uppsala, Sweden.
European Space Research and Technology Center, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, Netherlands.
Space Research Institute of Russian academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation.
Space Research Institute of Russian academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation.
Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom.
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Toulouse, France.
Boston University, MA, Boston, United States.
Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, IAPS, Rome, Italy.
Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Istituto di Radioastronomia, Bologna, Italy.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, IA, Iowa City, United States.
Astronomical Applications Department, United States Naval Observatory, DC, Washington, United States.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, IA, Iowa City, United States.
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.
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2022 (English)In: Experimental astronomy, ISSN 0922-6435, E-ISSN 1572-9508, Vol. 54, p. 641-676Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The objective of this White Paper, submitted to ESA’s Voyage 2050 call, is to get a more holistic knowledge of the dynamics of the Martian plasma system, from its surface up to the undisturbed solar wind outside of the induced magnetosphere. This can only be achieved with coordinated multi-point observations with high temporal resolution as they have the scientific potential to track the whole dynamics of the system (from small to large scales), and they constitute the next generation of the exploration of Mars analogous to what happened at Earth a few decades ago. This White Paper discusses the key science questions that are still open at Mars and how they could be addressed with coordinated multipoint missions. The main science questions are: (i) How does solar wind driving impact the dynamics of the magnetosphere and ionosphere? (ii) What is the structure and nature of the tail of Mars’ magnetosphere at all scales? (iii) How does the lower atmosphere couple to the upper atmosphere? (iv) Why should we have a permanent in-situ Space Weather monitor at Mars? Each science question is devoted to a specific plasma region, and includes several specific scientific objectives to study in the coming decades. In addition, two mission concepts are also proposed based on coordinated multi-point science from a constellation of orbiting and ground-based platforms, which focus on understanding and solving the current science gaps.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2022. Vol. 54, p. 641-676
Keywords [en]
Coordinated multipoint missions, ESA-Voyage2050, Future missions, Mars, Plasma, Science gaps
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-189927DOI: 10.1007/s10686-021-09790-0ISI: 000718072900001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85119288857OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-189927DiVA, id: diva2:1614939
Note
Part of a collection: Voyage 2050 – science themes for ESA’s long-term plan for the science programme: Solar Systems, ours and others (Part 2).
2021-11-292021-11-292024-01-17Bibliographically approved