Mars solar wind interaction and its relation to surface features and atmospheric dust

The plasma interactions of the different bodies in the solar system differ, but some processes are key at many of them. The main controlling factors are (1) upstream plasma conditions (including Mach number, dynamic pressure) and (2) the nature of the object (including magnetic field, presence of an atmosphere/exosphere, presence of internal sources and plasma discs, ion pickup processes). The processes involve magnetic reconnection, shocks and ion pickup. In this project the solar wind interaction with Mars will be studied using 17 years of data from ASPERA-3 to search for effects associates with surface features and dust storms. The results will be relevant for the Rosalind Franklin PanCam instrument and its operations.