2:30 PM - 2:45 PM
[PEM11-19] Mars Aurora Camera onboard the M-MATISSE mission: Mars Magnetosphere ATmosphere Ionosphere and Space-weather SciencE
Keywords:Mars, Aurora, space weather
The “Mars - Magnetosphere ATmosphere Ionosphere and Space-weather SciencE (M-MATISSE)” mission submitted to the 2022 ESA M-class call will investigate the global dynamics response of the Martian plasma-atmosphere system to space weather activity with observations through the solar wind and induced magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere (MIT) coupling. This is a key to understand the habitability of Mars as the MIT coupling controls the dissipation of incoming energy from the solar wind, and therefore, the evolution of Mars’ atmosphere (including atmospheric escape, auroral processes, and incoming radiation). It will significantly advance our understanding and forecasting of potential global hazard situations at Mars, an essential precursor to any future robotic and human exploration.
M-MATISSE will provide, for the first time, continuous simultaneous and fully coordinated observations of the system by two orbiters with in-situ and remote measurements. The fathership, called Henri, has a periapsis below 270 km and an apoapsis of ~3,000 km with an inclination of 60 degrees, and it will be expend most of its time within the Martian plasma system. The daughtership, called Marguerite, has also an inclination of 60 degrees, a periapsis below 270 km and an apoapsis of ~10,000 km, and it will be intended to expend most of its time in the solar wind and/or far tail of Mars. A particular important aspect of M-MATISSE is the capability to perform radio occultation by spacecraft-to-spacecraft cross-link, first time at other planet than Earth. It will allow simultaneous coverage of the upper and lower ionosphere of Mars, as well as the lower neutral atmosphere.
Auroral emissions are one of the known signatures of energetic particle precipitation into Mars’ atmosphere. Their mapping will help us to reconstruct the role of the magnetic field in driving these precipitations and also to identify the profile of their energy deposition. Recent discoveries of Martian ultraviolet (UV) aurora by MAVEN and EMM missions suggest highly variable nature less than 10 minutes with ~50-100 km spatial scale. The Mars- Aurora Camera (M-AC) onboard two orbiters is required to fulfill M-MATISSE’s scientific objectives via measurements of the green aurora emission induced by energetic particles precipitation into the atmosphere, and measurement of the atmospheric dust reflectivity. Our design addresses the need to reduce the resources to 1.5 kg by changing from UV to visible (VIS) range observations with negligible loss of science. The aurora emission brightness at 557.7 nm in the limb-geometry is expected in the range between <1 and ~7 kiloRayleigh (kR) (Soret et al., 2021). The instrumental design is based on recent UV observations and model predictions.
According to the capability of the visible optical system (compared to a conventional UV spectrometer), a compact optics applying aspheric lens can achieve an excellent signal-to-noise ratio of 1 for 10 R as a detection limit with an integration time of 1 second, which is expected to be improved by a factor of 5-10 compared to previous UV observations. This increases the number of auroral events detected. A wide angle field-of-view (FOV) of 150 degrees covers well the typical spatial scale of crustal magnetic field structures (~200 km) at periapsis. The wide FOV and the orbital motion of the spacecraft increase both the spatial coverage and the frequency of observation of the region of interest with and without crustal magnetic field to track its variability. On the other hand, the M-AC is designed to detect faint auroral emission on the night side and bright Mars disk reflectance for dust observation on the day side. In other words, the M-AC instrument requires a high dynamic range to achieve both objectives. Conceptual studies have confirmed that our current design is fully capable of meeting the requirements indicated above.
M-MATISSE is currently one of three mission concepts selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) in November 2023 for a three-year Phase A study as a candidate for the ESA M7-class mission. After Phase A, ESA will select one mission for a launch in 2037. The M-AC team consists of international members from Europe and US as well as Japan, led by Tohoku University. In this paper, we introduce the overview of the M-MATISSE mission and the results of conceptual study of the M-AC instrumental design.
M-MATISSE will provide, for the first time, continuous simultaneous and fully coordinated observations of the system by two orbiters with in-situ and remote measurements. The fathership, called Henri, has a periapsis below 270 km and an apoapsis of ~3,000 km with an inclination of 60 degrees, and it will be expend most of its time within the Martian plasma system. The daughtership, called Marguerite, has also an inclination of 60 degrees, a periapsis below 270 km and an apoapsis of ~10,000 km, and it will be intended to expend most of its time in the solar wind and/or far tail of Mars. A particular important aspect of M-MATISSE is the capability to perform radio occultation by spacecraft-to-spacecraft cross-link, first time at other planet than Earth. It will allow simultaneous coverage of the upper and lower ionosphere of Mars, as well as the lower neutral atmosphere.
Auroral emissions are one of the known signatures of energetic particle precipitation into Mars’ atmosphere. Their mapping will help us to reconstruct the role of the magnetic field in driving these precipitations and also to identify the profile of their energy deposition. Recent discoveries of Martian ultraviolet (UV) aurora by MAVEN and EMM missions suggest highly variable nature less than 10 minutes with ~50-100 km spatial scale. The Mars- Aurora Camera (M-AC) onboard two orbiters is required to fulfill M-MATISSE’s scientific objectives via measurements of the green aurora emission induced by energetic particles precipitation into the atmosphere, and measurement of the atmospheric dust reflectivity. Our design addresses the need to reduce the resources to 1.5 kg by changing from UV to visible (VIS) range observations with negligible loss of science. The aurora emission brightness at 557.7 nm in the limb-geometry is expected in the range between <1 and ~7 kiloRayleigh (kR) (Soret et al., 2021). The instrumental design is based on recent UV observations and model predictions.
According to the capability of the visible optical system (compared to a conventional UV spectrometer), a compact optics applying aspheric lens can achieve an excellent signal-to-noise ratio of 1 for 10 R as a detection limit with an integration time of 1 second, which is expected to be improved by a factor of 5-10 compared to previous UV observations. This increases the number of auroral events detected. A wide angle field-of-view (FOV) of 150 degrees covers well the typical spatial scale of crustal magnetic field structures (~200 km) at periapsis. The wide FOV and the orbital motion of the spacecraft increase both the spatial coverage and the frequency of observation of the region of interest with and without crustal magnetic field to track its variability. On the other hand, the M-AC is designed to detect faint auroral emission on the night side and bright Mars disk reflectance for dust observation on the day side. In other words, the M-AC instrument requires a high dynamic range to achieve both objectives. Conceptual studies have confirmed that our current design is fully capable of meeting the requirements indicated above.
M-MATISSE is currently one of three mission concepts selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) in November 2023 for a three-year Phase A study as a candidate for the ESA M7-class mission. After Phase A, ESA will select one mission for a launch in 2037. The M-AC team consists of international members from Europe and US as well as Japan, led by Tohoku University. In this paper, we introduce the overview of the M-MATISSE mission and the results of conceptual study of the M-AC instrumental design.