Related papers: Dynamics of solar wind protons reflected by the Mo…
We report on measurements of extremely high reflection rates of solar wind particles from regolith-covered lunar surfaces. Measurements by the Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer (SARA) instrument on the Indian Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in…
Characterised by a surface bound exosphere and localised crustal magnetic fields, the Moon was considered as a passive object when solar wind interacts with it. However, the neutral particle and plasma measurements around the Moon by recent…
Bodies that lack a significant atmosphere and internal magnetic fields, such as the Moon and asteroids, can to a first approximation be considered passive absorbers of the solar wind. The solar wind ions and electrons directly impact the…
The first Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 was launched on 22 October 2008. The Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer (SARA) instrument onboard Chandrayaan-1 consists of an energetic neutral atom (ENA) imaging mass analyzer called CENA…
SARA experiment aboard the first Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 had the objective to explore the solar wind-lunar interaction using energetic neutral atoms (ENA) from the lunar surface as diagnostic tool. SARA consisted of an ENA…
The solar wind affects the plasma environment around all solar system bodies. A strong solar wind dynamic pressure pushes plasma boundaries closer to these objects. For small objects kinetic effects on scales smaller than an ion gyroradius…
Significant proton fluxes were detected in the near wake region of the Moon by an ion mass spectrometer on board Chandrayaan-1. The energy of these nightside protons is slightly higher than the energy of the solar wind protons. The protons…
We report the first observation of protons in the near (100--200 km from surface) and deeper (near anti-subsolar point) lunar plasma wake when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and solar wind velocity ($v_{sw}$) are parallel (aligned…
Looking at the Mars-solar wind interaction on a larger spatial scale than the near Mars region, the planet can be seen as an ion source interacting with the solar wind, in many ways like a comet, but with a smaller ion source region. Here…
Mercury is the archetype of a weakly magnetized, airless, telluric body immersed in the solar wind. Due to the lack of any substantial atmosphere, the solar wind directly precipitates on Mercury's surface. Using a 3D fully-kinetic…
The extent to which a magnetosphere protects its planetary atmosphere from stellar wind ablation depends upon how well it prevents energy and momentum exchange with the atmosphere and how well it traps otherwise escaping plasma. We focus on…
Planetary habitability is in part determined by the atmospheric evolution of a planet; one key component of such evolution is escape of heavy ions to space. Ion loss processes are sensitive to the plasma environment of the planet, dictated…
After 9 years in the Saturn system, the Cassini spacecraft finally observed Titan in the supersonic solar wind. These unique observations reveal that Titan interaction with the solar wind is in many ways similar to un-magnetized planets…
Understanding the sources of lunar water is crucial for studying the history of lunar evolution, and also the solar wind interaction with the Moon and other airless bodies. Recent observations revealed lunar hydration is very likely a…
The paper presents results of laboratory experiment modeling the interaction between Lunar magnetic anomalies and Solar wind. To model the LMA we use quadrupole magnetic field. The main dimentionless parameter of the problem, the ion…
We study the interaction between the Moon and the solar wind using a three-dimensional hybrid plasma solver. The proton fluxes and electromagnetical fields are presented for typical solar wind conditions with different magnetic field…
The Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer (SARA) instrument on the Indian Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft has produced for the first time an image of a lunar magnetic anomaly in backscattered hydrogen atoms. The image shows that a partial void of the…
Solar wind ion reflection at collisionless shocks regulates foreshock plasma dynamics, yet the quantitative dependence of reflected ion properties on upstream and shock-related parameters remains unclear, causing difficulties in predicting…
Measurements conducted with the ASPERA-4 instrument and the magnetometer of the Venus Express spacecraft show that the dynamic pressure of planetary O+ ion fluxes measured in the Venus wake can be significantly larger than the local…
The Earth is a planet with a dipolar magnetic field which is agitated by a magnetized plasma wind streaming from the Sun. The magnetic field shields the Earth's surface from penetrating high energy solar wind particles, as well as…