5:15 PM - 6:45 PM
[PPS01-P12] 3D occultation modeling of Jovian auroral radio waves to uncover the ionospheric formation process of icy moons
Keywords:icy moon, ionosphere, JUICE, radio wave
Jupiter's icy moons, such as Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, are thought to have ionospheres generated by the ionization of the neutral atmosphere. The neutral atmosphere is produced mainly by surface material sputtering with charged particles in the Jovian magnetosphere and sublimation by solar irradiation. The neutral atmosphere is ionized by the following two processes: electron-impact ionization with energies above tens of eV and photoionization with solar extreme ultraviolet radiation. The ionospheric structures contain essential information for understanding the contribution of these formation processes.
In situ plasma measurements and radio occultation with signals between the spacecraft and ground stations have investigated ionospheric structures. The in situ measurements and radio occultation have restrictions on the observable altitude and solar zenith angle, respectively. Therefore, it is hard to investigate the asymmetric structures with respect to the sun, plasma flow direction, and local magnetic field structure, which have been shown in several modeling studies.
Jovian auroral radio occultation can also be utilized to investigate the icy moons’ ionospheres. This technique can observe the vertical structure of the ionosphere without the restrictions of altitude and solar zenith angle so that it can potentially evaluate the validity of the modeling studies. To address this, we are developing simulation tools of Jovian radio occultation with the 3D ionospheric model results, enabling us to investigate asymmetric ionospheres.
In this poster, we will report the status of the development of our tools. After completing this development, we will investigate the 3D ionospheric models with the Jovian auroral radio observation data from the Galileo spacecraft and enhance the study with Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer, JUICE, in the 2030s.
In situ plasma measurements and radio occultation with signals between the spacecraft and ground stations have investigated ionospheric structures. The in situ measurements and radio occultation have restrictions on the observable altitude and solar zenith angle, respectively. Therefore, it is hard to investigate the asymmetric structures with respect to the sun, plasma flow direction, and local magnetic field structure, which have been shown in several modeling studies.
Jovian auroral radio occultation can also be utilized to investigate the icy moons’ ionospheres. This technique can observe the vertical structure of the ionosphere without the restrictions of altitude and solar zenith angle so that it can potentially evaluate the validity of the modeling studies. To address this, we are developing simulation tools of Jovian radio occultation with the 3D ionospheric model results, enabling us to investigate asymmetric ionospheres.
In this poster, we will report the status of the development of our tools. After completing this development, we will investigate the 3D ionospheric models with the Jovian auroral radio observation data from the Galileo spacecraft and enhance the study with Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer, JUICE, in the 2030s.