Ground-based experimental facilities are needed to qualify materials subjected to aerothermodynamic loads during an entry into the Martian atmosphere. In the present work, the focus is on quantifying the temperature field in a medium- to high-enthalpy CO$$_{2}$$
2
flow (from 4.5 to $${10.5}\, \hbox {MJ}/\hbox {kg}$$
10.5
MJ
/
kg
) of a plasma wind tunnel using one- and two-dimensional two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence (CO-TALIF) thermometry at a CO number density in the range of 1–2 $$\times$$
×
10$$^{17}$$
17
cm$$^{-3}$$
-
3
. However, the measurement method developed here can also be used to study satellite propulsion systems. Due to absorption by air, a two-photon excitation scheme of the CO molecule at 115 nm (VUV) was used. Experimental and simulated excitation spectra are compared for temperature determination. For spectrum simulation in the B$$^1\varSigma ^+$$
1
Σ
+
$$\leftarrow$$
←
X$$^1\varSigma ^+$$
1
Σ
+
system, an existing program was extended and a polynomial regression correlation was developed for signals with low signal-to-noise ratios. After the first one-dimensional temperature measurements using CO-TALIF in the free-stream to quantify the radial temperature profile for three conditions in the medium- to high- enthalpy range, respectively, two-dimensional measurements in a steady state test chamber at room temperature were carried out. For the two-dimensional investigations, a light sheet optic was designed to generate a light sheet free of divergence in width and thickness. The results of the one- and two-dimensional temperature measurements performed at medium- to high-enthalpy conditions provided plausible results concerning both the values and the course in radial and axial direction, the latter being, to the authors’ knowledge, the first two-dimensional temperature measurements under such conditions using CO-TALIF.
