Ionospheric Electron Densities at Mars: Comparison of Mars Express Ionospheric Sounding and MAVEN Local Measurements

Abstract

AbstractWe present the first direct comparison of Martian ionospheric electron densities measured by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) topside radar sounder on board the Mars Express spacecraft and by the Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW) instrument on board the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) spacecraft. As low electron densities are not measured by MARSIS due to the low power radiated at low sounding frequencies, MARSIS electron density profiles between the local electron density and the first data point from the ionospheric sounding (≈104 cm−3) rely on an empirical electron density profile shape. We use the LPW electron density measurements to improve this empirical description and thereby the MARSIS‐derived electron density profiles. We further analyze four coincident events, where the two instruments were measuring within a 5° solar zenith angle interval within 1 h. The differences between the electron densities measured by the MARSIS and LPW instruments are found to be within a factor of 2 in 90% of measurements. Taking into account the measurement precision and different locations and times of the measurements, these differences are within the estimated uncertainties.