J. Parrott, H. Svedhem, O. Witasse, C. Wilson, I. Mueller-Wodarg, A. Cardesín-Moinelo, P. Schmitz, J. Godfrey, O. Reboud, B. Geiger, B. Sánchez-Cano, B. Nava, Y. Migoya-Orué
Abstract
Spacecraft-to-spacecraft radio occultations experiments are being conducted at Mars between Mars Express (MEX) and Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), the first ever extensive inter-spacecraft occultations at a planet other than Earth. Here we present results from the first 83 such occultations, conducted between 2 Nov 2020 and 5th of July 2023. Of these, 44 observations have to-date resulted in the extraction of vertical electron density profiles. These observations are the successful results of a major feasibility study conducted by the European Space Agency to use pre-existing relay communication equipment for radio science purposes. Mutual radio occultations have numerous advantages over traditional spacecraft-to-ground station occultations. In this work, we demonstrate how raw data are transformed into electron density values and validated with models and other instruments.
Keywords
Mars ionosphere, radio occultation, mutual radio occultation, crosslink, Mars express, trace gas orbiter
Radio Science
Volume 59, Number 7
2024 July
