Water heavily fractionated as it ascends on Mars as revealed by ExoMars/NOMAD

sotopic ratios and, in particular, the water D/H ratio are powerful tracers of the evolution and transport of water on Mars. From measurements performed with ExoMars/NOMAD, we observe marked and rapid variability of the D/H along altitude on Mars and across the whole planet. The observations (from April 2018 to April 2019) sample a broad range of events on Mars, including a global dust storm, the evolution of water released from the southern polar cap during southern summer, the equinox phases, and a short but intense regional dust storm. In three instances, we observe water at very high altitudes (>80 km), the prime region where water is photodissociated and starts its escape to space. Rayleigh distillation appears the be the driving force affecting the D/H in many cases, yet in some instances, the exchange of water reservoirs with distinctive D/H could be responsible

First Detection and Thermal Characterization of Terminator CO₂ Ice Clouds With ExoMars/NOMAD

We present observations of terminator CO2 ice clouds events in three groups: Equatorial dawn, Equatorial dusk (both between 20°S and 20°N) and Southern midlatitudes at dawn (45°S and 55°S east of Hellas Basin) with ESA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter's Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery instrument. CO2 ice abundance is retrieved simultaneously with water ice, dust, and particle sizes, and rotational temperature and CO2 column profiles in 16 of 26 cases. Small particles (2 ice is sometimes detected in unsaturated air together with dust nuclei at dawn, suggesting ongoing sublimation. Depending on latitude and local time, the interplay between particle precipitation and the lifetime of temperature minima (i.e., cold pockets) determines CO2 ice properties

Martian upper atmosphere response to solar EUV flux and soft X-ray flares

Planetary upper atmosphere energetics is mainly governed by absorption of solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. Understanding the response of planetary upper atmosphere to the daily, long and short term variation in solar flux is very important to quantify energy budget of upper atmosphere. We report a comprehensive study of Mars dayglow observations made by the IUVS instrument aboard the MAVEN spacecraft, focusing on upper atmospheric response to solar EUV flux. Our analysis shows both short and long term effect of solar EUV flux on Martian thermospheric temperature. We find a significant drop (> 100 K) in thermospheric temperature between Ls = 218° and Ls = 140°, attributed primarily to the decrease in solar activity and increase in heliocentric distance. IUVS has observed response of Martian thermosphere to the 27-day solar flux variation due to solar rotation.We also report effect of two solar flare events (19 Oct. 2014 and 24 March 2015) on Martian dayglow observations. IUVS observed about ~25% increase in observed brightness of major ultraviolet dayglow emissions below 120 km, where most of the high energy photons (< 10 nm) deposit their energy. The results presented in this talk will help us better understand the role of EUV flux in total heat budget of Martian thermosphere

Ultraviolet observations of the hydrogen coma of comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) by MAVEN/IUVS

We used the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) aboard the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) orbiting spacecraft to construct images of the hydrogen coma of comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) days before its close encounter with Mars. We obtain a water production rate of 1.1 ± 0.5 × 1028 molecules/s and determine the total impacting fluence of atoms and molecules corresponding to the photodissociation of water and its daughter species to be 2.4 ± 1.2 × 104 kg. We use these observations to confirm predictions that the mass of delivered hydrogen is comparable to the existing reservoir above 150 km. Furthermore, we reconcile disparity between observations and predictions about the detectability of the hydrogen perturbation and thermospheric response. © 2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved

MAVEN IUVS Observations of the Aftermath of the Comet Siding Spring Meteor Shower on Mars

International audienceWe report the detection of intense emission from magnesium ions in Mars' atmosphere caused by a meteor shower following Comet Siding Spring's close encounter with Mars. The observations were made with the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph, a remote sensing instrument on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft orbiting Mars. Ionized magnesium caused the brightest emission from the planet's atmosphere for many hours, resulting from resonant scattering of solar ultraviolet light. Modeling suggests a substantial fluence of low-density dust particles 1–100 µm in size, with the large amount and small size contrary to predictions. The event created a temporary planet-wide ionospheric layer below Mars' main dayside ionosphere and above the persistent layer that exists due to sporadic meteors. These observations inform our understanding of the meteoric atmospheric chemistry and dynamical processes

New Observations of Molecular Nitrogen by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph on MAVEN

International audienceThe Martian ultraviolet dayglow provides information on the basic state of the Martian upper atmosphere. The Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) on NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission has observed Mars at mid and far-UV wavelengths since its arrival in September 2014. In this work, we describe a linear regression method used to extract components of UV spectra from IUVS limb observations and focus in particular on molecular nitrogen (N2) photoelectron excited emissions. We identify N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield (LBH) emissions for the first time at Mars and we also confirm the tentative identification of N2 Vegard-Kaplan (VK) emissions. We compare observed VK and LBH limb radiance profiles to model results between 90 and 210 km. Finally, we compare retrieved N2 density profiles to general circulation (GCM) model results. Contrary to earlier analyses using other satellite data that indicated N2 densities were a factor of three less than predictions, we find that N2 abundances exceed GCM results by about a factor of two at 130 km but are in agreement at 150 km

Variability of D and H in the Martian Exosphere

International audienceThe IUVS instrument on MAVEN contains an echelle spectrograph with a novel optical design to enable long-aperture measurements of emission lines in the absence of continuum, intended primarily to measure the H and D Ly α emission lines from the martian upper atmosphere. The main scientific goal of the echelle channel is to measure the H and D Ly α emissions that result from resonant scattering of solar emission and to discover how the H and D densities, temperatures, and escape fluxes vary with location, season, topography, etc. The global D/H ratio of the martian atmosphere is roughly 5 times higher than in the terrestrial atmosphere due to the escape of a large volume of water into space, likely early in the history of Mars. Since H atoms escape faster than D atoms, the D/H ratio increases with time as more water is lost. Earth-based IR observations have indicated large variations in the HDO/H2O ratio in the lower atmosphere from location to location, and possible changes with the atmospheric seasonal cycles [Villanueva et al. 2015]. HST and MEX measurements of the H corona of Mars have shown large (order of magnitude) changes in the H exosphere and escape flux with changing seasons and/or heliospheric distance [Clarke et al. 2014; Chaffin et al. 2014]. A series of observations of D and H with the IUVS echelle channel now show a strong trend in the variation of both emissions, with order of magnitude changes in both species in the upper atmosphere. With the added data expected in Fall 2016, we will be able to determine this trend over a full range of martian solar longitude. These results and a comparison with proposed processes that might lead to the observed changes will be presented

Non-Migrating Tides in the Martian Atmosphere as Observed by MAVEN IUVS

International audienceUsing 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