Abstract. The interaction of the solar wind with the ionosphere of planet Mars is studied using a three-dimensional hybrid model. Mars has only a weak intrinsic magnetic field, and consequently its ionosphere is directly affected by the solar wind. The gyroradii of the solar wind protons are in the range of several hundred kilometers and therefore comparable with the characteristic scales of the interaction region. Different boundaries emerge from the interaction of the solar wind with the continuously produced ionospheric heavy-ion plasma, which could be identified as a bow shock (BS), ion composition boundary (ICB) and magnetic pile up boundary (MPB), where the latter both turn out to coincide. The simulation results regarding the shape and position of these boundaries are in good agreement with the measurements made by Phobos-2 and MGS spacecraft. It is shown that the positions of these boundaries depend essentially on the ionospheric production rate, the solar wind ram pressure, and the often unconsidered electron temperature of the ionospheric heavy ion plasma. Other consequences are rays of planetary plasma in the tail and heavy ion plasma clouds, which are stripped off from the dayside ICB region by some instability. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (solar wind interactions with unmagnetized bodies) – Space plasma physics (discontinuities; numerical simulation studies)

Abstract. Titan possesses a dense atmosphere, consisting mainly of molecular nitrogen. Titan's orbit is located within the Saturnian magnetosphere most of the time, where the corotating plasma flow is super-Alfvénic, yet subsonic and submagnetosonic. Since Titan does not possess a significant intrinsic magnetic field, the incident plasma interacts directly with the atmosphere and ionosphere. Due to the characteristic length scales of the interaction region being comparable to the ion gyroradii in the vicinity of Titan, magnetohydrodynamic models can only offer a rough description of Titan's interaction with the corotating magnetospheric plasma flow. For this reason, Titan's plasma environment has been studied by using a 3-D hybrid simulation code, treating the electrons as a massless, charge-neutralizing fluid, whereas a completely kinetic approach is used to cover ion dynamics. The calculations are performed on a curvilinear simulation grid which is adapted to the spherical geometry of the obstacle. In the model, Titan's dayside ionosphere is mainly generated by solar UV radiation; hence, the local ion production rate depends on the solar zenith angle. Because the Titan interaction features the possibility of having the densest ionosphere located on a face not aligned with the ram flow of the magnetospheric plasma, a variety of different scenarios can be studied. The simulations show the formation of a strong magnetic draping pattern and an extended pick-up region, being highly asymmetric with respect to the direction of the convective electric field. In general, the mechanism giving rise to these structures exhibits similarities to the interaction of the ionospheres of Mars and Venus with the supersonic solar wind. The simulation results are in agreement with data from recent Cassini flybys.

Abstract. Rhea's magnetospheric interaction is simulated using a three-dimensional, hybrid plasma simulation code, where ions are treated as particles and electrons as a massless, charge-neutralizing fluid. In consistency with Cassini observations, Rhea is modeled as a plasma absorbing obstacle. This leads to the formation of a plasma wake (cavity) behind the moon. We find that this cavity expands with the ion sound speed along the magnetic field lines, resulting in an extended depletion region north and south of the moon, just a few Rhea radii (R Rh ) downstream. This is a direct consequence of the comparable thermal and bulk plasma velocities at Rhea. Perpendicular to the magnetic field lines the wake's extension is constrained by the magnetic field. A magnetic field compression in the wake and the rarefaction in the wake sides is also observed in our results. This configuration reproduces well the signature in the Cassini magnetometer data, acquired during the close flyby to Rhea on November 2005. Almost all plasma and field parameters show an asymmetric distribution along the plane where the corotational electric field is contained. A diamagnetic current system is found running parallel to the wake boundaries. The presence of this current system shows a direct corelation with the magnetic field configuration downstream of Rhea, while the resulting j×B forces on the ions are responsible for the asymmetric structures seen in the velocity and electric field vector fields in the equatorial plane. As Rhea is one of the many plasma absorbing moons of Saturn, we expect that this case study should be relevant for most lunar-type interactions at Saturn.

Abstract. The ELS and IMA sensors of the ASPERA-3 experiment onboard of Mars-Express (MEX) can measure electron as well as ion moments. We compare these measurements for a specific orbit with the simulation results from a 3-D hybrid model. In the hybrid approximation the electrons are modeled as a massless charge-neutralizing fluid, whereas the ions are treated as individual particles. This approach allows gyroradius effects to be included in our model calculations of the Martian plasma environment because the gyroradii of the solar wind protons are in the range of several hundred kilometers and therefore comparable with the characteristic scales of the subsolar ionospheric interaction region. The position of both the bow shock and the Ion Composition Boundary (ICB) manifest in the MEX data as well as in the results from the hybrid simulation nearly at the same location. The characteristic features of these boundaries, i.e. an increase of proton density and temperature at the Bow Shock and a transition from solar wind to ionospheric particles at the ICB, are clearly identifiable in the data.

Abstract. We report on new simultaneous in-situ observations at Mars from Rosetta and Mars Express (MEX) on how the Martian plasma environment is affected by high pressure solar wind. A significant sharp increase in solar wind density, magnetic field strength and turbulence followed by a gradual increase in solar wind velocity is observed during ∼24 h in the combined data set from both spacecraft after Rosetta's closest approach to Mars on 25 February 2007. The bow shock and magnetic pileup boundary are coincidently observed by MEX to become asymmetric in their shapes. The fortunate orbit of MEX at this time allows a study of the inbound boundary crossings on one side of the planet and the outbound crossings on almost the opposite side, both very close to the terminator plane. The solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) downstream of Mars are monitored through simultaneous measurements provided by Rosetta. Possible explanations for the asymmetries are discussed, such as crustal magnetic fields and IMF direction. In the same interval, during the high solar wind pressure pulse, MEX observations show an increased amount of escaping planetary ions from the polar region of Mars. We link the high pressure solar wind with the observed simultaneous ionCorrespondence to: N. J. T. Edberg (ne@irfu.se) outflow and discuss how the pressure pulse could also be associated with the observed boundary shape asymmetry.