Abstract
The MAVEN Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) instrument is designed to measure the energetic charged particle input to the Martian atmosphere. SEP consists of two sensors mounted on corners of the spacecraft deck, each utilizing a dual, double-ended solid-state detector telescope architecture to separately measure fluxes of electrons from 20 to 1000 keV and ions from 20–6000 keV, in four orthogonal look directions, each with a field of view of \(42^{\circ}\) by \(31^{\circ}\). SEP, along with the rest of the MAVEN instrument suite, allows the effects of high energy solar particle events on Mars’ upper atmospheric structure, temperatures, dynamics and atmospheric escape rates, to be quantified and understood. Given that solar activity was likely substantially higher in the early solar system, understanding the relationship between energetic particle input and atmospheric loss today will enable more confident estimates of total atmospheric loss over Mars’ history.
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Larson, D.E., Lillis, R.J., Lee, C.O. et al. The MAVEN Solar Energetic Particle Investigation. Space Sci Rev 195, 153–172 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-015-0218-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-015-0218-z