M5 — Mars Magnetospheric Multipoint Measurement Mission: A multi-spacecraft plasma physics mission to Mars
Loading...
Access rights
openAccess
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
This publication is imported from Aalto University research portal.
View publication in the Research portal
View/Open full text file from the Research portal
Other link related to publication
View publication in the Research portal
View/Open full text file from the Research portal
Other link related to publication
Date
2024-03-15
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
21
Series
Advances in Space Research, Volume 73, issue 6, pp. 3235-3255
Abstract
Mars, lacking an intrinsic dynamo, is an ideal laboratory to comparatively study induced magnetospheres, which can be found in other terrestrial bodies as well as comets. Additionally, Mars is of particular interest to further exploration due to its loss of habitability by atmospheric escape and possible future human exploration. In this context, we propose the Mars Magnetospheric Multipoint Measurement Mission (M5), a multi-spacecraft mission to study the dynamics and energy transport of the Martian induced magnetosphere comprehensively. Particular focus is dedicated to the largely unexplored magnetotail region, where signatures of magnetic reconnection have been found. Furthermore, a reliable knowledge of the upstream solar wind conditions is needed to study the dynamics of the Martian magnetosphere, especially the different dayside boundary regions but also for energy transport phenomena like the current system and plasma waves. This will aid the study of atmospheric escape processes of planets with induced magnetospheres. In order to resolve the three-dimensional structures varying both in time and space, multi-point measurements are required. Thus, M5 is a five spacecraft mission, with one solar wind monitor orbiting Mars in a circular orbit at 5 Martian radii, and four smaller spacecraft in a tetrahedral configuration orbiting Mars in an elliptical orbit, spanning the far magnetotail up to 6 Mars radii with a periapsis just outside the Martian magnetosphere of 1.8 Mars radii. We not only present a detailed assessment of the scientific need for such a mission but also show the resulting mission and spacecraft design taking into account all aspects of the mission requirements and constraints such as mass, power, and link budgets. Additionally, different aspects of the mission programmatics like a possible mission timeline, cost estimates, or public outreach are shown. The common requirements for acceptance for an ESA mission are considered. The mission outlined in this paper was developed during the Alpbach Summer School 2022 on the topic of “Comparative Plasma Physics in the Universe”.Description
Funding Information: VL gratefully acknowledges the support from the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Research of Sustainable Space (FORESAIL) and the School of Electrical Engineering of Aalto University for participating in the Summer School Alpbach 2022. Funding Information: PD gratefully acknowledges funding support from the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) for participating in the Summer School Alpbach 2022. Funding Information: MB-S and DT gratefully acknowledge the support from the Österreichische Forschungsförderungs GmbH (FFG) for participating in the Summer School Alpbach 2022. Funding Information: ADI gratefully acknowledges support from Agenzia Spaziale Italiana to attend the Summer School Alpbach 2022. Funding Information: The authors acknowledge funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), which supported Summer School Alpbach 2022, on the theme “Comparative Plasma Physics in the Universe”. Funding Information: MB gratefully acknowledges support from the Norwegian Space Agency to attend the Summer School Alpbach 2022. Funding Information: CJKL gratefully acknowledges support from SRON to attend the Summer School Alpbach 2022, and gratefully acknowledges support from the International Max Planck Research School for Astronomy and Cosmic Physics at the University of Heidelberg in the form of an IMPRS PhD fellowship. CJKL gratefully acknowledges further support by the German Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG in the form of an Emmy Noether Research Group – Project-ID 445674056 (SA4064/1–1, PI Sander) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments. Funding Information: SL and SNÖ gratefully acknowledge support from the Swedish National Space Agency to attend the Summer School Alpbach. Funding Information: JG and LS gratefully acknowledge funding support from Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt for participating in the Summer School Alpbach 2022. Funding Information: The authors acknowledge funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), which supported Summer School Alpbach 2022, on the theme “Comparative Plasma Physics in the Universe”. We also acknowledge valuable discussions with the tutors of the Summer School Alpbach 2022, Carlos Pintassilgo and Brian Reville. MB gratefully acknowledges support from the Norwegian Space Agency to attend the Summer School Alpbach 2022. MB-S and DT gratefully acknowledge the support from the Österreichische Forschungsförderungs GmbH (FFG) for participating in the Summer School Alpbach 2022. PD gratefully acknowledges funding support from the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) for participating in the Summer School Alpbach 2022. ADI gratefully acknowledges support from Agenzia Spaziale Italiana to attend the Summer School Alpbach 2022. JG and LS gratefully acknowledge funding support from Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt for participating in the Summer School Alpbach 2022. CJKL gratefully acknowledges support from SRON to attend the Summer School Alpbach 2022, and gratefully acknowledges support from the International Max Planck Research School for Astronomy and Cosmic Physics at the University of Heidelberg in the form of an IMPRS PhD fellowship. CJKL gratefully acknowledges further support by the German Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG in the form of an Emmy Noether Research Group – Project-ID 445674056 (SA4064/1–1, PI Sander) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments. SL and SNÖ gratefully acknowledge support from the Swedish National Space Agency to attend the Summer School Alpbach. VL gratefully acknowledges the support from the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Research of Sustainable Space (FORESAIL) and the School of Electrical Engineering of Aalto University for participating in the Summer School Alpbach 2022. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 COSPAR
Keywords
Atmospheric escape, Induced magnetospheres, Magnetic reconnection, Mars, Mission concept proposal, Multi-spacecraft constellation
Other note
Citation
Larkin, C J K, Lundén, V, Schulz, L, Baumgartner-Steinleitner, M, Brekkum, M, Dazzi, P, Cegla, A, Iuliis, A D, Gesch, J, Lennerstrand, S, Nesbit-Östman, S, Pires, V D C, Palanca, I T, Teubenbacher, D, Enengl, F & Hallmann, M 2024, ' M 5 — Mars Magnetospheric Multipoint Measurement Mission: A multi-spacecraft plasma physics mission to Mars ', Advances in Space Research, vol. 73, no. 6, pp. 3235-3255 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2023.11.032
