A cubesat mission concept for the remote sensing of the Martian atmosphere
METADATA ONLY
Loading...
Author / Producer
Date
2020-10
Publication Type
Working Paper
ETH Bibliography
yes
Citations
Altmetric
METADATA ONLY
Data
Rights / License
Abstract
The atmospheric measurements made by the six Mars orbiters in operation (as of July 2020) significantly improved our understanding of the Martian weather and climate. However, while some of these orbiters will reach their lifetime, innovative and cost-effective missions are requested - not only to guarantee continued observation but also to address potential gaps in the existing observing network. Inspired by the success of the two Mars Cube One (MarCO) satellites we have established a mission concept, which is based on a series of cubesats, carried to Mars and injected into a low-Mars orbit as secondary payload on a larger orbiter. Each cubesat will be equipped with the necessary features for cross-link radio occultation (RO) measurements in X-band. Intelligent attitude control will allow for maintaining the cubesats in a so-called "string-of-pearls" formation over a period of about 150 solar days. During this period, a series of RO experiments will be carried out with the larger orbiter for up to 180 measurement series per day. Due to the specific observation geometry, we will obtain a unique set of globally distributed cross-link occultations. For processing of the observations, tomographic principles are applied to the RO measurements for reconstruction of high-resolution 2D temperature and pressure fields of the lower Martian atmosphere. The obtained products will give an insight into various unresolved atmospheric phenomena - especially of those which are characterized by distinct horizontal gradients in pressure and temperature, e.g. as observed at the day-night terminator, during dust storms, or over complex terrain.
Permanent link
Publication status
published
External links
Editor
Book title
Journal / series
Volume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
ESSOAr
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
Atmospheric Sciences; Planetology; Radioastronomy
Organisational unit
03824 - Rothacher, Markus (emeritus) / Rothacher, Markus (emeritus)