P047-0010
DETECTING CARBON ION MOVEMENT AT MARS: RESULTS FROM STATIC

Friday, 11 December 2020
Poster
Nicholas Brackney Brackney Pickett1, James P McFadden2, Jared R Espley3, Christopher M Fowler4, Phyllis L Whittlesey4 and Kathleen Gwen Hanley5, (1)University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States, (2)Univ California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States, (3)Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (4)Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States, (5)Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, United States
Abstract:
The Suprathermal And Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) sensor on the MAVEN spacecraft provides yet unseen detail in the composition and energy of ions in the Martian ionosphere, giving insight into atmospheric energization and loss mechanisms. STATIC measures ion composition and temperature in the ionosphere (>150 km), suprathermal outflows at intermediate altitudes, and pickup ion losses in the solar wind. STATIC can distinguish H+, H2+, He++, H3+, He+, O+, and O2+ by mass with little effort due to their strong readings. Measuring minor ions (e.g. C+) which are close in mass to major atmospheric ions (e.g. O+) is difficult due to instrumental effects; however, accurate measurement of these species is essential for understanding chemistry and transport in the ionosphere. Complex algorithms involving multi-step background subtraction and fitting Gaussians to the major species are required to separate the minor species. C+ is particularly important in understanding the history of the Martian atmosphere and its surface. We will report the first MAVEN STATIC observations of C+ flux at Mars, focusing on strong C+ signals at 200 km and tailward flows with respect to the magnetic field, as well as the methodology for extracting C+ from the larger outflows.
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