First Observations of Mars Atmosphere and Ionosphere with Tianwen-1 Radio-Occultation Technique on 5 August 2021

Xiong Hu; Xiaocheng Wu; Shuli Song; Maoli Ma; Weili Zhou; Qingchen Xu; Lei Li; Cunying Xiao; Xie Li; Chi Wang; Qinghui Liu; Lue Chen; Guangming Chen; Jianfeng Cao; Mei Wang; Peijia Li; Zhanghu Chu; Bo Xia; Junfeng Yang; Cui Tu; Dan Liu; Simin Zhang; Quan Zhang; Zheng Li

doi:10.3390/rs14112718

Remote Sensing (Jun 2022)

First Observations of Mars Atmosphere and Ionosphere with Tianwen-1 Radio-Occultation Technique on 5 August 2021

Xiong Hu,
Xiaocheng Wu,
Shuli Song,
Maoli Ma,
Weili Zhou,
Qingchen Xu,
Lei Li,
Cunying Xiao,
Xie Li,
Chi Wang,
Qinghui Liu,
Lue Chen,
Guangming Chen,
Jianfeng Cao,
Mei Wang,
Peijia Li,
Zhanghu Chu,
Bo Xia,
Junfeng Yang,
Cui Tu,
Dan Liu,
Simin Zhang,
Quan Zhang,
Zheng Li

Affiliations

Xiong Hu: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Xiaocheng Wu: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Shuli Song: Shanghai Astronomy Observatory, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
Maoli Ma: Shanghai Astronomy Observatory, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
Weili Zhou: Shanghai Astronomy Observatory, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
Qingchen Xu: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Lei Li: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Cunying Xiao: Department of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Xie Li: Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, Beijing 100094, China
Chi Wang: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Qinghui Liu: Shanghai Astronomy Observatory, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
Lue Chen: Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, Beijing 100094, China
Guangming Chen: Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, Beijing 100094, China
Jianfeng Cao: Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, Beijing 100094, China
Mei Wang: Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, Beijing 100094, China
Peijia Li: Shanghai Astronomy Observatory, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
Zhanghu Chu: Shanghai Astronomy Observatory, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
Bo Xia: Shanghai Astronomy Observatory, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
Junfeng Yang: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Cui Tu: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Dan Liu: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Simin Zhang: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Quan Zhang: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Zheng Li: National Space Science Center, State Key Lab of Solar Activity and Space Weather, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14112718
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 14, no. 11
p. 2718

Abstract

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The radio-occultation technique can provide vertical profiles of planetary ionospheric and atmospheric parameters, which merit the planetary-climate and space-weather scientific research so far. The Tianwen-1 one-way single-frequency radio-occultation technique was developed to retrieve Mars ionospheric and atmospheric parameters. The first radio-occultation event observation experiment was conducted on 5 August 2021. The retrieved excess Doppler frequency, bending angle, refractivity, electron density, neutral mass density, pressure and temperature profiles are presented. The Mars ionosphere M1 (M2) layer peak height is at 140 km (105 km) with a peak density of about 3.7 × 1010 el/m3 (5.3 × 1010 el/m3) in the retrieved electron-density profile. A planetary boundary layer (−2.35 km~5 km), a troposphere (temperature decreases with height) and a stratosphere (24 km–40 km) clearly appear in the retrieved temperature profile below 50 km. Results show that Tianwen-1 radio occultation data are scientifically reliable and useful for further Mars climate and space-weather studies.

Published in Remote Sensing

ISSN: 2072-4292 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing/

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