Signatures of the Martian rotation parameters in the Doppler and range observables

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how Mars' rotational motions influence Doppler and range measurements from landers, providing formulas to identify signatures of nutations, precession, and other parameters to optimize geophysical observations.

Contribution

It introduces first-order formulas linking Mars' rotation parameters to Doppler and range observables, aiding in the interpretation of planetary rotation signatures.

Findings

Largest signatures from length-of-day variations, precession, and nutations near the equator.

Polar motion signatures are stronger near the poles.

Numerical evaluation of signatures for other planetary bodies.

Abstract

The position of a Martian lander is affected by different aspects of Mars' rotational motions: the nutations, the precession, the length-of-day variations and the polar motion. These various motions have a different signature in a Doppler observable between the Earth and a lander on Mars' surface. Knowing the correlations between these signatures and the moments when these signatures are not null during one day or on a longer timescale is important to identify strategies that maximize the geophysical return of observations with a geodesy experiment, in particular for the ones on-board the future NASA InSight or ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars2020 missions. We provide first-order formulations of the signature of the rotation parameters in the Doppler and range observables. These expressions are functions of the diurnal rotation of Mars, the lander position, the planet radius and the rotation parameter. Additionally, the nutation signature in the Doppler observable is proportional to the Earth declination with respect to Mars. For a lander on Mars close to the equator, the motions with the largest signature in the Doppler observable are due to the length-of-day variations, the precession rate and the rigid nutations. The polar motion and the liquid core signatures have a much smaller amplitude. For a lander closer to the pole, the polar motion signature is enhanced while the other signatures decrease. We also numerically evaluate the amplitudes of the rotation parameters signature in the Doppler observable for landers on other planets or moons.