We present a comprehensive study of the nightside discrete electron aurora phenomenon on Mars, utilizing observations from EMUS onboard EMM. The oxygen emission at 130.4 nm is by far the brightest FUV auroral emission line observed at Mars. We identify auroral pixels in OI 130.4 nm disk observations, with higher sensitivity than previously possible. Our statistical analysis reveals regional, SZA, local time, and seasonal dependencies of auroral occurrence. Higher occurrence of aurora is observed in regions of open magnetic topology and vertical crustal magnetic fields. Aurora occurs more frequently closer to the terminator and is more likely on the dusk versus dawn sides of the night hemisphere. A pronounced auroral feature appears close to midnight local times in the southern hemisphere, consistent with the “spot” of energetic electron fluxes previously identified in the MGS data. The auroral spot is more frequent after midnight than before. Additionally, some regions on Mars are “aurora voids” where essentially no aurora occurs. The non-crustal field aurora exhibits a seasonal dependence, with major enhancements around Ls 235° (near perihelion) and Ls 30°. This is in line with the seasonal variability in ionospheric TEC observed by Mars Express, which is in turn related to the variability of solar irradiance and thermospheric density. Aurora occurrence also shows an increase with the rise of Solar Cycle 25. These observations not only shed light on where and when Martian aurora occurs, but also add to our understanding of Mars’ magnetic environment and its interaction with the heliospheric environment.

We present the first observations of the dayside coronal oxygen emission in far ultraviolet (FUV) measured by the Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS) onboard the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM). The high sensitivity of EMUS is providing an opportunity to observe the tenuous oxygen corona in FUV, which is otherwise difficult to observe. Oxygen resonance fluorescence emission at 130.4 nm provides a measurement of the upper atmospheric and exospheric oxygen. More than 500 oxygen corona profiles are constructed using the long-exposure time cross-exospheric mode (OS4) of EMUS observations. These profiles range from ~200 km altitude up to several Mars radii (>6 RM) across all seasons and for two Mars years. Our analysis shows that OI 130.4 nm is highly correlated with solar irradiance (solar photoionizing and 130.4 nm illuminating irradiances) as well as changes in the Sun-Mars distance. The prominent short term periodicity in oxygen corona brightness is consistent with the solar rotation period (quasi-27-days). A comparison between the perihelion seasons of Mars Year (MY) 36 and MY 37 shows interannual variability with enhanced emission intensities during MY 37, due to the rise of Solar Cycle 25. These observations show a highly variable oxygen corona, which has significant implications on constraining the photochemical escape of atomic oxygen from Mars.

The D/H ratio in water on Mars, Rwater, is 4–6× the Earth ratio, signifying past water loss to space. Recently, measurements have revealed high values of the D/H ratio in hydrogen, Ratomic, in the thermosphere during southern summer. Here, we use a photochemical model to explore the potential drivers of Ratomic, testing three: thermospheric temperatures, excess mesospheric water, and changing insolation. We find that Ratomic can achieve values between 15× the Earth ratio (due to water) and 25× the Earth ratio (due to temperature). The effects arise because H escape is diffusion-limited, while D escape is energy-limited. Our results underscore how Ratomic reflects mesospheric dynamics, and the need for concurrent measurements of mesospheric water, thermospheric temperatures, and Ratomic to understand seasonal changes in the martian water cycle and atmospheric loss.

Observations of the Lyman-a emissions from Interplanetary Hydrogen (IPH) atoms are made from Mars’ orbit using a high spectral resolution instrument in echelle configuration. The measurements can uniquely be used to resolve IPH from planetary H emissions and to subsequently determine the brightness, velocity, and thermal broadening of the IPH flow along the instrument line of sight. Planned as well as serendipitous observations, both upwind and downwind of the flow, are analyzed to determine these IPH properties and to examine the variability of IPH brightness with solar activity through the declining phase of Solar Cycle 24. A heliospheric interface model was used to simulate and interpret the derived IPH properties. The results show that the IPH brightness trends with solar irradiance, the flow is fainter downwind than upwind, the IPH brightness is variable and non-negligible compared with planetary emissions, and that deriving thermal properties of IPH requires higher spectral resolution than is presently available. These results can improve the theoretical understanding of solar system dynamics by providing empirical constraints to simulations from the inner boundary of the heliosphere and can guide the development of future interplanetary missions.

Proton aurora are the most commonly observed yet least studied type of aurora at Mars. In order to better understand the physics and driving processes of Martian proton aurora, we undertake a multi-model comparison campaign. We compare results from four different proton/hydrogen precipitation models with unique abilities to represent Martian proton aurora: Jolitz model (3-D Monte Carlo), Kallio model (3-D Monte Carlo), Bisikalo/Shematovich et al. model (1-D kinetic Monte Carlo), and Gronoff et al. model (1-D kinetic). This campaign is divided into two steps: an inter-model comparison and a data-model comparison. The inter-model comparison entails modeling five different representative cases using similar constraints in order to better understand the capabilities and limitations of each of the models. Through this step we find that the two primary variables affecting proton aurora are the incident solar wind particle flux and velocity. In the data-model comparison, we assess the robustness of each model based on its ability to reproduce a MAVEN/IUVS proton aurora observation. All models are able to effectively simulate the data. Variations in modeled intensity and peak altitude can be attributed to differences in model capabilities/solving techniques and input assumptions (e.g., cross sections, 3-D versus 1-D solvers, and implementation of the relevant physics and processes). The good match between the observations and multiple models gives a measure of confidence that the appropriate physical processes and their associated parameters have been correctly identified, and provides insight into the key physics that should be incorporated in future models.

Although deuterium (D) on Mars has received substantial attention, the deuterated ionosphere remains relatively unstudied. This means that we also know very little about non-thermal D escape from Mars, since it is primarily driven by excess energy imparted to atoms produced in ion-neutral reactions. Most D escape from Mars is expected to be non-thermal, highlighting a gap in our understanding of water loss from Mars. In this work, we set out to fill this knowledge gap. To accomplish our goals, we use an upgraded 1D photochemical model that fully couples ions and neutrals and does not assume photochemical equilibrium. To our knowledge, such a model has not been applied to Mars previously. We model the atmosphere during solar minimum, mean, and maximum, and find that the deuterated ionosphere behaves similarly to the H-bearing ionosphere, but that non-thermal escape on the order of 8000-9000 cm-2s-1 dominates atomic D loss under all solar conditions. The total fractionation factor, f, is 0.04–0.07, and integrated water loss is 147–158 m GEL. This is still less than geomorphological estimates. Deuterated ions at Mars are likely difficult to measure with current techniques due to low densities and mass degeneracies with more abundant H ions. Future missions wishing to measure the deuterated ionosphere in situ will need to develop innovative techniques to do so.

The upper atmosphere of Mars is directly affected by solar activity and the resulting solar irradiance impinging upon it. Variations in solar forcing can affect the rate at which atmospheric species escape from the planetary system. Remotely sensed observations of the upper atmosphere of Mars have been made during solar activity extrema of Solar Cycles 22 and 24. These observations were made of D and H Lyman-a emissions using the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) high resolution spectrographs. Data obtained from the two missions are analyzed and used to derive densities and escape rates of D and H from the martian upper atmosphere. The results show that the properties of these two water-spawned atoms vary with solar cycle, and display significant inter-annual variability, mainly due to variations in atmospheric temperature. The findings suggest that cooler atmospheric temperatures due to reduced solar EUV flux may enhance the abundance of H atoms in the upper atmosphere of Mars, yet this does not increase their escape rates.

Mars’ ultraviolet airglow has been used to study its upper atmosphere for over four decades. Identifying variations in emission features has provided information on composition, density and temperature. The Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer onboard the Emirates Mars Mission observes Mars’ airglow at Far and Extreme UV wavelengths. Variations in disk emission features are studied, with a focus on O I 1304 Å, CO Fourth Positive Group and C I 1561 Å. All show variations with local time and emission angle as expected. Dawn-dusk asymmetry observed is attributed to local time differences in advection. Variations in the brightness of several dayglow features, including 1304 Å, with irregular shapes are noted in around 25% of the disk images. These display some local time and hemispheric asymmetry in their occurrence rates. Examination of their spatial structure, occurrence, and spectra suggests these are associated with variations in composition and photoelectron flux.

Discrete aurora at Mars, characterized by their small spatial scale and tendency to form near strong crustal magnetic fields, are emissions produced by particle precipitation into the Martian upper atmosphere. Since 2014, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN’s (MAVEN’s) Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) has obtained a large collection of nightside UV discrete aurora observations. Initial analysis of these observations has shown that, near the strong crustal field region (SCFR) in the southern hemisphere, the aurora detection frequency is highly sensitive to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle. However, the role of other solar wind properties in controlling the aurora detection frequency has not yet been determined. In this work, we use IUVS discrete aurora observations, and MAVEN solar wind observations, to determine how the discrete aurora detection frequency varies with solar wind dynamic pressure, IMF strength, and IMF cone angle. We find that, outside of the SCFR, the detection frequency is relatively insensitive to the IMF orientation, but significantly increases with solar wind dynamic pressure and moderately increases with IMF strength. Interestingly, the auroral emission brightness outside the SCFR is insensitive to the dynamic pressure. Inside the SCFR, the detection frequency is moderately dependent on the dynamic pressure and is much more sensitive to the IMF clock and cone angles. In the SCFR, aurora are unlikely to occur when the IMF points near the radial or anti-radial directions. Together, these results provide the first comprehensive characterization of how upstream solar wind conditions affect the formation of discrete aurora at Mars.

We report six years of observations of dayside temperatures of the middle and upper atmosphere of Mars made by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument aboard the MAVEN spacecraft. Thermospheric temperatures show strong long-term variability associated with Martian season and solar cycle. Temperatures from both the Martian thermosphere and mesosphere show strong short-term variability indicating coupling from the lower atmosphere. The observed local time effect is strong in both upper and middle atmosphere temperatures. The thermosphere tends to be colder in the morning compared to the evening when temperatures are higher. Middle atmospheric temperatures show cooling during the dawn and dusk hours. Our analysis shows strong tidal activity during aphelion, whereas non-migrating tides are suppressed during perihelion, possibly due to increased dust activity. Observations during the deep minimum of solar cycle 24 reveal that thermospheric temperatures are highly variable with respect to local time if solar forcing, Mars-Sun distance, and spatial effects are removed. We will discuss these results in the context of coupling between the lower and upper atmosphere of Mars.

Much of the water that once flowed on the surface of Mars was lost to space long ago, and the total amount lost remains unknown. Clues to the amount lost can be found by studying hydrogen (H) and its isotope deuterium (D), both of which are produced when atmospheric water molecules H$_2$O and HDO dissociate. The freed H and D atoms then escape to space at different rates due to their different masses, leaving an enhanced D/H ratio. The rate of change of D/H is referred to as the fractionation factor $f$. Both the D/H ratio and $f$ are necessary to estimate water loss; thus, if we can constrain the range of $f$, we will be able to estimate water loss more accurately. In this study, we use a 1D photochemical model of the Martian atmosphere to determine how $f$ depends on assumed temperature and water vapor profiles. We find that for most Martian atmospheric conditions, $f$ varies between $10^{-1}$ and $10^{-5}$; for the standard Martian atmosphere, $f=0.002$ for thermal escape processes, and $f\approxeq0.06$ when both thermal and non-thermal escape are considered. Using these results, we estimate that Mars has lost at minimum 66-123 m GEL of water. Our results demonstrate that the value of $f$ is almost completely controlled by the amount of non-thermal escape of D, and that photochemical modeling studies that include fractionation must thus model both neutral and ion processes throughout the atmosphere.

Lower atmosphere variations in the martian water vapour and hydrogen abundance during the Mars Year (MY) 34 C storm from LS=326.1◦-333.5◦ and their associated effect on hydrogen escape are investigated using a multi-spacecraft assimilation of atmospheric retrievals into a Martian global circulation model. Elevation of the hygropause and associated increase in middle atmosphere hydrogen at the peak of the MY 34 C storm led to a hydrogen escape rate of around 1.4×109 cm−2s−1 , meaning the MY 34 C storm enhanced water loss rates on Mars to levels observed during global-scale dust storms. The water loss rate during the MY 34 C storm (a loss of 15% of the total annual water loss during only 5% of the year) was three times stronger than the weak MY 30 C storm assimilation, demonstrating that interannual variations in C storm strength must be considered when calculating the integrated loss of water on Mars.