Mars' plasma system. Scientific potential of coordinated multi-point missions: "The next generation" (A White Paper submitted to ESA's Voyage 2050 Call)

TL;DR

This white paper advocates for coordinated multi-point missions to study Mars' plasma system, aiming to answer key scientific questions about its magnetosphere, ionosphere, and space weather, advancing Mars exploration.

Contribution

It proposes a novel multi-point observational approach with specific mission concepts to address open scientific questions about Mars' plasma environment.

Findings

Identified key science questions for Mars' plasma system

Outlined mission concepts for coordinated multi-point observations

Highlighted the importance of in-situ space weather monitoring

Abstract

The objective of this White Paper submitted to ESA's Voyage 2050 call is to get a more holistic knowledge of the dynamics of the Martian plasma system from its surface up to the undisturbed solar wind outside of the induced magnetosphere. This can only be achieved with coordinated multi-point observations with high temporal resolution as they have the scientific potential to track the whole dynamics of the system (from small to large scales), and they constitute the next generation of Mars' exploration as it happened at Earth few decades ago. This White Paper discusses the key science questions that are still open at Mars and how they could be addressed with coordinated multipoint missions. The main science questions are: (i) How does solar wind driving impact on magnetospheric and ionospheric dynamics? (ii) What is the structure and nature of the tail of Mars' magnetosphere at all scales? (iii) How does the lower atmosphere couple to the upper atmosphere? (iv) Why should we have a permanent in-situ Space Weather monitor at Mars? Each science question is devoted to a specific plasma region, and includes several specific scientific objectives to study in the coming decades. In addition, two mission concepts are also proposed based on coordinated multi-point science from a constellation of orbiting and ground-based platforms, which focus on understanding and solving the current science gaps.