International audienceThe Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) is one of nine science instruments aboard the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile and EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft. MAVEN, launched in November 18, 2013 and arriving at Mars in September 2014, is designed to explore the planet's upper atmosphere and ionosphere and examine their interaction with the solar wind and solar ultraviolet radiation. IUVS is one of the most powerful spectrographs sent to another planet, with several key capabilities: (1) separate Far-UV & Mid-UV channels for stray light control, (2) a high resolution echelle mode to resolve deuterium and hydrogen emission, (3) internal instrument pointing and scanning capabilities to allow complete mapping and nearly-continuous operation, and (4) optimization for airglow studies

We have measured the 30 and 100 eV far ultraviolet (FUV) emission cross sections of the optically allowed Fourth Positive Group (4PG) band system (A 1 Π → X 1 Σ + ) of CO and the optically forbidden O ( 5 S o → 3 P) 135.6 nm atomic transition by electron-impact-induced-fluorescence of CO and CO 2 . We present a model excitation cross section from threshold to high energy for the A 1 Π state, including cascade by electron impact on CO. The A 1 Π state is perturbed by triplet states leading to an extended FUV glow from electron excitation of CO. We derive a model FUV spectrum of the 4PG band system from dissociative excitation of CO 2 , an important process observed on Mars and Venus. Our unique experimental setup consists of a large vacuum chamber housing an electron gun system and the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph optical engineering unit, operating in the FUV (110-170 nm). The determination of the total O I ( 5 S o ) at 135.6 nm emission cross section is accomplished by measuring the cylindrical glow pattern of the metastable emission from electron impact by imaging the glow intensity about the electron beam from nominally zero to~400 mm distance from the electron beam. The study of the glow pattern of O I (135.6 nm) from dissociative excitation of CO and CO 2 indicates that the O I ( 5 S o ) state has a kinetic energy of~1 eV by modeling the radial glow pattern with the published lifetime of 180 μs for the O I ( 5 S o ) state.Plain Language Summary Both Mars and Venus have upper atmospheres that are similar in composition: mostly CO 2 , CO, and N 2 are dominant molecular gases, with nearly identical UV spectra. The modeling studies of atmospheric UV emissions cannot presently be accurately conducted to the same accuracy as the planetary UV measurements, which avail themselves with state-of-the-art calibrated spectrographs. This dichotomy in accuracy between planetary observation and model occurs because the atomic and molecular emission cross sections with uncertainties of certain transitions are greater than 100%. Furthermore, the analysis is complicated by the spectral blending of the various emissions of the low-resolution spectral spaceborne instruments. We present in this paper a UV laboratory instrument unique in the world at the University of Colorado that can measure for the first time the excitation mechanisms with accurate emission cross sections of both allowed and optically forbidden transitions that are occurring in a planetary atmosphere. Key Points: • We measured 30 and 100 eV emission cross sections of Fourth Positive band system of CO and O I (135.6 nm) from electron impact on CO and CO 2 • We conducted a laboratory experiment measuring single-scattering electron-impactinduced-fluorescence FUV spectra from excitation of CO and CO 2 • Fragment kinetic energy measurement for O I ( 5 S o ) atoms found to be around~1 eV from both CO and CO 2 molecular dissociation Correspondence to: et al. (2019). UV study of the Fourth Positive band system ...

We have measured the 100 eV emission cross section of the optically forbidden Lyman‐Birge‐Hopfield (LBH) band system (a1Πg → X1Σ+g) of N2 by electron‐impact‐induced fluorescence. Using a large (1.5 m diameter) vacuum chamber housing an electron gun system and the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph optical engineering model, we have obtained calibrated spectral measurements of the LBH band system from 115 to 175 nm over a range of lines of sight to capture all of the optical emissions. These measurements represent the first experiment to directly isolate in the laboratory single‐scattering electron‐impact‐induced fluorescence from both direct excitation of the a1Πg state and cascading contributions to the a1Πg state (a′1Σ−u and w1Δu → a1Πg → X1Σ+g). The determination of the total LBH emission cross section is accomplished by measuring the entire cylindrical glow pattern of the metastable emission from electron impact by imaging lines of sight that measure the glow intensity from zero to ~400 mm radial distance and calculating the ratio of the integrated intensity from the LBH glow pattern to that of a simultaneously observed optically allowed transition with a well‐established cross section: Ni 120.0 nm. The “direct” emission cross section of the a1Πg state at 100 eV was determined to be σemdir = (6.41 ± 1.3) × 10−18 cm2. An important observation from the glow pattern behavior is that the total (direct + cascading) emission cross section is pressure dependent due to collision‐induced cascade transitions between close‐lying electronic states.