Observations of Mars in 1903

Workshop on Mars Telescopic Observations

Observations of the nightside ionosphere of Mars by the Mars Express Radio Science Experiment (MaRS)

[1] The vertical structure of the nightside ionosphere of Mars and its dependence on solar zenith angle are currently poorly determined, as is the importance of two key sources of nightside plasma, electron precipitation and transport of dayside plasma. We examined 37 electron density profiles of the ionosphere of Mars at solar zenith angles of 101 –123 obtained by the Mars Express Radio Scienc...

Modeling Mars’ ionosphere with constraints from same‐day observations by Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express

[1] We have analyzed a brief period of same‐day observations of the Martian ionosphere using data obtained in December 2004 from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and Mars Express (MEX) radio occultation experiments. These data were taken shortly after sunrise under solstice conditions in both hemispheres, with MGS in the summer (northern) hemisphere at high latitudes while MEX was in the winter (...

Clouds in the Polar Night of Mars: Modeling and Observations with the Mars Climate Sounder

Introduction: Polar “cold spots” – regions of unusually low brightness temperature – affect the Martian climate by reducing the outgoing heat flux, which is balanced by the latent heat of CO2 sublimation. Since the Viking era, their cause has remained uncertain. Using radiometric observations from the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) during southern winter, we previously reported that transient cold ...

Gravity Observations of Structure in Valles Marineris, Mars

Introduction Valles Marineris is one of the most prominent tectonic structures on Mars. It is approximately 4000 km long [1] and up to 11 km deep [2]. Valles Marineris is oriented radial to the Tharsis volcanic province and formed primarily by normal faulting in an extensional rifting environment [3]. Detailed geologic mapping indicates that it formed primarily during the Early Hesperian [4], c...