Majd Mayyasi, Boston University

Unraveling Present-day Mysteries of Mars using its Ionosphere

Abstract: Mars is a target for human exploration. This motivates understanding the planet from its surface-to-space regions. The plasma environment at Mars holds many similarities to those of Earth and Venus despite the intrinsic differences in the terrestrial planets. The last 40 years of space exploration have provided abundant data for what the composition, dynamics and energetics of the martian plasma include. While much is being learned about the planet, there remain outstanding questions such as: How much water did the planet once have? What processes drive atmospheric escape? And, how can we explain the odd energy budget in the upper atmosphere? In this talk, the contribution of the ionosphere of Mars as a proxy to answering these questions is discussed.