[en] The Mars Aurora and dust Camera is designed to observe the oxygen green line emission at 557.7 nm in the Mars atmosphere. On the dayside, this wavelength reveals dust properties, while on the nightside, M-AC will capture spectacular images of the green aurora, both at nadir (spatial distribution) and limb (altitude distribution). This visible emission is the UV counterpart of the oxygen emission observed by the EMM/EMUS instrument. The first detection of the green aurora from the Mars surface by the Perseverance rover confirms the feasibility of M-AC’s objectives.
Synergy with the M-MATISSE suite of instruments will help determining the energy of the particles causing Mars aurorae.
Additionally, M-AC could significantly contribute to studying the bright Herzberg II oxygen nightglow, recently discovered in the visible domain by TGO/NOMAD/UVIS during winter polar nights.
Research Center/Unit :
STAR - Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research - ULiège
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Soret, Lauriane ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP) ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Unités de recherche interfacultaires > Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR)
Nakagawa, H.
Harada, Y.
Nakamura, Y.
Gérard, Jean-Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)
Schneider, N.
Lillis, R.
Jain, S.
Deighan, J.
Sánchez-Cano, B.
Leblanc, F.
the M-AC team
Language :
English
Title :
M-AC: a powerful instrument to remotely observe the visible auroral and nightglow emissions in the Mars upper atmosphere
