Related papers: Wind erosion on Mars and other small terrestrial p…
We propose a new method to estimate ion escape from unmagnetized planets that combines observations and models. Assuming that upstream solar wind conditions are known, a computer model of the interaction between the solar wind and the…
Planetesimals are born fragile and are subject to destruction by wind erosion as they move through the gas of a protoplanetary disk. In microgravity experiments, we determined the shear stress necessary for erosion of a surface consisting…
Planet-encircling dust storms fundamentally reshape Martian weather and the near-surface electrostatic environment. We investigate the generation and evolution of electric fields during global dust storms using bimodal dust size…
This work investigates a hybrid photovoltaic-wind-battery power system designed to sustain a Mars base under varying seasonal and climatic conditions. The Mars Climate Database was utilized to simulate the effects of seasonal changes,…
Planet Mars past environmental conditions were similar to the early Earth, but nowadays they are similar to those of a very cold desert, irradiated by intense solar UV light. However, some terrestrial lifeform showed the capability to adapt…
Understanding solar wind variability throughout the heliosphere is essential for fundamental space physics and future exploration of the Moon and Mars. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft has provided upstream…
Numerous laboratory experiments, starting in the Viking Lander era, have reported that frictional interactions between Martian analog dust grains can catalyze electrostatic processes (i.e. triboelectrification). Such findings have been…
We used attitude data from the Mars Ingenuity helicopter with a simple steady-state model to estimate windspeeds and directions at altitudes of 3 meters up to 24 meters, the first time winds at such altitudes have been probed on Mars. We…
We study roles of the thermosphere and exosphere on the Martian ionospheric structure and ion escape rates in the process of the solar wind-Mars interaction. We employ a four-species multifluid MHD (MF-MHD) model to simulate the Martian…
We consider the possibility that aeolian (wind blown) processes occur on small, 1 to 100~km diameter, planetesimals when they were embedded in the protosolar nebula. Drag from a headwind within a protostellar disk is sufficiently large to…
The aim of this study is to simulate the interaction of the solar wind with the Hermean magnetosphere when the interplanetary magnetic field is weak, performing a parametric study for all the range of hydrodynamic values of the solar wind…
We determined the possible compensation depths for relief harmonics of different degrees and orders. The relief is shown to be completely compensated within the depth range of 0 to 1400 km. The lateral distributions of compensation masses…
We compare estimates of atmospheric precipitation during the Martian Noachian-Hesperian boundary 3.8 Gyr ago as calculated in a radiative-convective column model of the atmosphere with runoff values estimated from a geomorphological…
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…
We study the interaction of three solar wind structures, two stream interaction regions and one interplanetary coronal mass ejection, with Mars' plasma environment during 20-27 November 2007. This period corresponds to the solar minimum…
The atmospheres of highly irradiated exoplanets are observed to undergo hydrodynamic escape. However, due to strong pressures, stellar winds can confine planetary atmospheres, reducing their escape. Here, we investigate under which…
Near-term studies of Venus-like atmospheres with JWST promise to advance our knowledge of terrestrial planet evolution. However, the remote study of Venus in the Solar System and the ongoing efforts to characterize gaseous exoplanets both…
We use the Mars Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (MRAMS) to simulate lake storms on Mars, finding that intense localized precipitation will occur for lake size >=10^3 km^2. Mars has a low-density atmosphere, so deep convection can be…
Characterizing the Martian atmosphere is an essential objective to understand its meteorology and its climate. The lower atmosphere (< 40 km) and middle atmosphere (40-80 km) of Mars appear dynamically coupled at much higher levels than in…
Recently, four additional Earth-mass planets were discovered orbiting the nearby ultracool M8 dwarf TRAPPIST-1, making a remarkable total of seven planets with equilibrium temperatures compatible with the presence of liquid water on their…