M. S. Chaffin

MAVEN observations of the response of Mars to an interplanetary coronal mass ejection

Coupling between the lower and upper atmosphere, combined with loss of gas from the upper atmosphere to space, likely contributed to the thin, cold, dry atmosphere of modern Mars. To help understand ongoing ion loss to space, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft made comprehensive measurements of the Mars upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and interactions with the Sun and solar wind during an interplanetary coronal mass ejection impact in March 2015. Responses include changes in the bow shock and magnetosheath, formation of widespread diffuse aurora, and enhancement of pick-up ions. Observations and models both show an enhancement in escape rate of ions to space during the event. Ion loss during solar events early in Mars history may have been a major contributor to the long-term evolution of the Mars atmosphere.

Early MAVEN Deep Dip campaign reveals thermosphere and ionosphere variability

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, during the second of its Deep Dip campaigns, made comprehensive measurements of martian thermosphere and ionosphere composition, structure, and variability at altitudes down to ~130 kilometers in the subsolar region. This altitude range contains the diffusively separated upper atmosphere just above the well-mixed atmosphere, the layer of peak extreme ultraviolet heating and primary reservoir for atmospheric escape. In situ measurements of the upper atmosphere reveal previously unmeasured populations of neutral and charged particles, the homopause altitude at approximately 130 kilometers, and an unexpected level of variability both on an orbit-to-orbit basis and within individual orbits. These observations help constrain volatile escape processes controlled by thermosphere and ionosphere structure and variability.

Discovery of diffuse aurora on Mars

Planetary auroras reveal the complex interplay between an atmosphere and the surrounding plasma environment. We report the discovery of low-altitude, diffuse auroras spanning much of Mars’ northern hemisphere, coincident with a solar energetic particle outburst. The Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph, a remote sensing instrument on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, detected auroral emission in virtually all nightside observations for ~5 days, spanning nearly all geographic longitudes. Emission extended down to ~60 kilometer (km) altitude (1 microbar), deeper than confirmed at any other planet. Solar energetic particles were observed up to 200 kilo–electron volts; these particles are capable of penetrating down to the 60 km altitude. Given minimal magnetic fields over most of the planet, Mars is likely to exhibit auroras more globally than Earth.

Three‐dimensional structure in the Mars H corona revealed by IUVS on MAVEN

Loss of water to space via neutral hydrogen escape has been an important process throughout Martian history. Contemporary loss rates can be constrained through observations of the extended neutral hydrogen atmosphere of Mars in scattered sunlight at 121.6 nm. Historically, such observations have been interpreted with coupled density and radiative transfer models, inferring escape fluxes from brightness profiles gathered by flybys, orbiters, and telescope observations. Here we demonstrate that the spherical symmetry assumed by prior analyses cannot reproduce observations by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission. We present unique observations of the Mars H corona to large radial distances and mapping results from initial MAVEN science at Mars. These observations represent the first detection of three-dimensional structure in the H corona of Mars, with implications for understanding the atmosphere today and the loss of H to space throughout Martian history.

MAVEN IUVS observation of the hot oxygen corona at Mars

Observation of the hot oxygen corona at Mars has been an elusive measurement in planetary science. Characterizing this component of the planets exosphere provides insight into the processes driving loss of oxygen at the current time, which informs understanding of the planets climatic evolution. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) instrument is now regularly collecting altitude profiles of the hot oxygen corona as part of its investigation of atmospheric escape from Mars. Observations obtained thus far have been examined and found to display the expected gross structure and variability with EUV forcing anticipated by theory. The quality and quantity of the data set provides valuable constraints for the coronal modeling community.

The structure and variability of Mars upper atmosphere as seen in MAVEN/IUVS dayglow observations

We report a comprehensive study of Mars dayglow observations focusing on upper atmospheric structure and seasonal variability. We analyzed 744 vertical brightness profiles comprised of ∼109,300 spectra obtained with the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) aboard the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) satellite. The dayglow emission spectra show features similar to previous UV measurements at Mars. We find a significant drop in thermospheric scale height and temperature between LS = 218° and LS = 337–352°, attributed primarily to the decrease in solar activity and increase in heliocentric distance. We report the detection of a second, low-altitude peak in the emission profile of OI 297.2 nm, confirmation of the prediction that the absorption of solar Lyman alpha emission is an important energy source there. The inline image UV doublet peak intensity is well correlated with simultaneous observations of solar 17–22 nm irradiance at Mars.

Nonmigrating tides in the Martian atmosphere as observed by MAVEN IUVS

Using the Mars Atmospheric and Volatile EvolutioN mission (MAVEN) Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS), we found periodic longitudinal variations in CO2 density in the Martian atmosphere. The variations exhibit significant structure with longitudinal wave numbers 1, 2, and 3 in an effectively constant local solar time frame, and we attribute this structure to nonmigrating tides. The wave-2 component is dominated by the diurnal eastward moving DE1 tide at the equator and the semidiurnal stationary S0 tide at the midlatitudes. Wave-3 is dominated by the diurnal eastward moving DE2 tide, with possibly the semidiurnal eastward moving SE1 tide causing an amplitude increase at the midlatitudes. Structure in the wave-1 component can be explained by the semidiurnal westward moving SW1 tide.

New observations of molecular nitrogen in the Martian upper atmosphere by IUVS on MAVEN

We identify molecular nitrogen (N2) emissions in the Martian upper atmosphere using the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) on NASAs Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission. We report the first observations of the N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield (LBH) bands at Mars and confirm the tentative identification of the N2 Vegard-Kaplan (VK) bands. We retrieve N2 density profiles from the VK limb emissions and compare calculated limb radiances between 90 and 210 km against both observations and predictions from a Mars general circulation model (GCM). Contrary to earlier analyses using other satellite data, we find that N2 abundances exceed GCM results by about a factor of 2 at 130 km but are in agreement at 150 km. The analysis and interpretation are enabled by a linear regression method used to extract components of UV spectra from IUVS limb observations.

Retrieval of CO2 and N2 in the Martian thermosphere using dayglow observations by IUVS on MAVEN

We present direct number density retrievals of carbon dioxide (CO2) and molecular nitrogen (N2) for the upper atmosphere of Mars using limb scan observations during October and November 2014 by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph on board NASAs Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft. We use retrieved CO2 densities to derive temperature variability between 170 and 220 km. Analysis of the data shows (1) low-mid latitude northern hemisphere CO2 densities at 170 km vary by a factor of about 2.5, (2) on average, the N2/CO2 increases from 0.042 ± 0.017 at 130 km to 0.12 ± 0.06 at 200 km, and (3) the mean upper atmospheric temperature is 324 ± 22 K for local times near 14:00.

Variability of D and H in the Martian Upper Atmosphere Observed with the MAVEN IUVS Echelle Channel

The MAVEN IUVS instrument contains an echelle spectrograph channel designed to measure D and H Ly α emissions from the upper atmosphere of Mars. This channel has successfully recorded both emissions, which are produced by resonant scattering of solar emission, over the course of most of a martian year. The fundamental purpose of these measurements is to understand the physical principles underlying the escape of H and D from the upper atmosphere into space, and thereby to relate present-day measurements of an enhanced HDO/H2O ratio in the bulk atmosphere to the water escape history of Mars. Variations in these emissions independent of the solar flux reflect changes in the density and/or temperature of the species in the upper atmosphere. The MAVEN measurements show that the densities of both H and D vary by an order of magnitude over a martian year, and not always in synch with each other. This discovery has relevance to the processes by which H and D escape into space. One needs to understand the controlling factors to be able to extrapolate back in time to determine the water escape history from Mars at times when the atmosphere was thicker, when the solar flux and solar wind were stronger, etc. Further measurements will be able to identify the specific controlling factors for the large changes in H and D, which likely result in large changes in the escape fluxes of both species.