Wing-Huen Ip
Biography & lecture abstract
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Lecture: Space weather effects at Mars
The geomagnetic effects caused by solar storms are important topics in current space physics study. Increasing attention is also being given to similar processes at Mars because of the significant number of spacecraft orbiting around this planet and the enhanced level of in-situ surface exploration by landers, rovers, drones and even possibly field work by astronauts in the future. The scientific investigations are being made more interesting because of the presence of strong remnant crustal magnetic fields in the Southern hemisphere, even though a global magnetic field is lacking at Mars. The existence of many minimagnetospheres and how the ionospheric layers would be shielded by penetrating solar energetic particles and energetic particles produced by local reconnection are fascinating questions to be addressed by new missions to Mars. In this lecture, we will therefore review how the method of space weather forecasting at Earth could be extended to Mars taking advantage of the operations of many spacecraft between the Sun and the orbit of Mars. In addition, we will review possible global and local responses of the martian ionosphere and the mini-magnetospheres to solar flares and coronal mass ejection events.