Exploring Martian Magnetic Fields with a Helicopter

Abstract

The era of helicopter-based surveys on Mars has already begun, creating opportunities for future aerial science investigations with a range of instruments. We argue that magnetometer-based studies can make use of aerial technology to answer some of the key questions regarding early Mars evolution. As such, we discuss mission concepts for a helicopter equipped with a magnetometer on Mars, measurements it would provide, and survey designs that could be implemented. For a range of scenarios, we build magnetization models and test how well structures can be resolved using a range of different inversion approaches. With this work, we provide modeling ground work and recommendations to plan the future of aerial Mars exploration.

Igneous Diversity of the Early Martian Crust

“…Color images with mm to cm resolution Helicopter or orbiter Regional paleomagnetism Low-altitude magnetic measurements [117] Helicopter or orbiter…”

Magnetic Field Signatures of Craters on Mars

“…On Mars, such magnetic signatures are currently not resolvable in satellite data and while locally the absence of strong crustal magnetic fields on the surface in Utopia could be used to argue for the lack of a dynamo during post-impact basin cooling(Du et al, 2023), possible local demagnetizing effects mean that the measurements are still consistent with a longer-lived Martian dynamo. To cover a broader region, low altitude regional studies of cratered terrain on Mars are required, which could be enabled by a helicopter(Bapst et al, 2021;Mittelholz et al, 2021Mittelholz et al, , 2023. Such helicopter studies would enable detection of signals that can open up new avenues to study magnetic signatures of craters, inherently coupled to the interior and surface processes and contributing to fundamental aspects regarding the evolution of terrestrial planets.…”