Student: Emma Hawk, Undergraduate Student in Electrical Engineering, University of Iowa
Research Mentor: Ananya Sen Gupta
Ion Process Analysis in the Martian Atmosphere
There is an ongoing question of where the water on Mars went. We use data collected with the Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA) and Suprathermal and Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) devices aboard MAVEN to analyse the ongoing processes in the Martian atmosphere. We hope to use our methods of analysis to better understand how solar wind has affected the atmosphere and, in turn, may have caused the disappearance of the water which used to be present on Mars’ surface.