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Upper Ionosphere of Mars During Solar Quiet and Disturbed Conditions

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Planetary Exploration and Science: Recent Results and Advances

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Abstract

In this chapter, we have described upper and lower ionospheric measurements, which have been obtained from radio occultation experiment onboard Mariners 6, 7 and 9; Mars 4 and 5; Viking 1 and 2; Mars Global Surveyor; and Mars Express. The ionisation sources like solar EUV, X-ray and particle radiations have been discussed. Observations on the upper ionosphere of Mars during disturbances like aurorae, solar flares, solar energetic particles and coronal mass ejections are also described. The understanding of complex behaviour of Martian ionosphere requires a balanced effort in the area of theoretical modelling. Therefore, we have also reported modelling of the upper ionosphere of Mars during quiet and disturbed conditions. At present measurements on the ionosphere of Mars are limited to middle- and high-latitude region. The low-latitude ionosphere of Mars is not observed. The physics of the low-latitude ionosphere could be very different from middle- and high-latitude ionosphere. Therefore, it is necessary to look for opportunities for obtaining observations at low-latitude region.

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Acknowledgement

We acknowledge Shuanggen Jin for his encouragements to write this chapter. Author is grateful to Planetary Data System for providing us radio science data for modelling and analysis. Some part of this chapter is previously published in Space Science Reviews by S.A. Haider and K.K. Mahajan, Lower and Upper Ionosphere of Mars, 2014 doi: 10.1007/s11214-014-0058-2.

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  1. Space and Atmospheric Science Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

    S. A. Haider

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Correspondence to S. A. Haider .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

    Shuanggen Jin

  2. University of Hawaii-Manoa NASA Astrobiology Institute, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

    Nader Haghighipour

  3. National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Wing-Huen Ip

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Haider, S.A. (2015). Upper Ionosphere of Mars During Solar Quiet and Disturbed Conditions. In: Jin, S., Haghighipour, N., Ip, WH. (eds) Planetary Exploration and Science: Recent Results and Advances. Springer Geophysics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45052-9_7

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