angeo-27-2383-2009.pdf (2.12 MB)
Rosetta swing-by at Mars – an analysis of the ROMAP measurements in comparison with results of 3-D multi-ion hybrid simulations and MEX/ASPERA-3 data
journal contribution
posted on 2016-01-27, 16:50 authored by A. Boesswetter, U. Auster, I. Richter, M. Fränz, B. Langlais, S. McKenna-Lawlor, S. Simon, U. Motschmann, K. H. Glassmeier, N. J. T. Edberg, R LundinThe Rosetta spacecraft flew by Mars at a distance of 260 km on 25 February 2007 during a gravity assist manoeuvre. During the closest approach (CA) the lander magnetometer ROMAP was switched on. The dataset taken during this swingby provides insight into the plasma environment around Mars: in addition to a pronounced bow shock crossing Rosetta recorded the signature of the pile up region of draped magnetic field. Also the Rosetta measurements showed signatures of crustal magnetic field anomalies which can be verified by results of a crustal magnetic field model. In order to understand the measured field morphology, multi-ion hybrid simulations were performed. Some of the input parameters for the simulations were obtained from Mars Express (MEX) data which were contemporaneously collected during the Rosetta swingby. These simulations reproduces ROMAP magnetic field measurements and show that the interplanetary magnetic field pointed northward during the encounter. A spectral analysis shows upstream waves ahead of the bow shock and indicates the presence of the magnetic pile-up boundary (MPB). The multi-ion model reproduces the ion fluxes measured by MEX/ASPERA-3 and is in agreement with the measurements to within one order of magnitude.
Funding
This work has been supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through the grants MO 539/13 and MO 539/15. Further financial support for the work of the RPC-MAG and ROMAP Principal Investigator Team at the Technische Universitaet Braunschweig by the German Ministerium fuer Wirtschaft und Technologie and the Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt under grant 50QP0402 and 50QP0201 is acknowledged.
History
Citation
Annales Geophysicae 27, 2383-2398, 2009Version
- VoR (Version of Record)