The martian plasma environment: Model calculations and observations Original Research Article

Based on a modified version of the model of an induced martian magnetosphere developed by Luhmann (1990), the dynamics and spatial distribution of different planetary ion species is examined. Three main regions are identified: A cloud of ions travelling along cycloidal trajectories, a plasma mantle and a plasma sheet. The latter predominantly consists of oxygen ions of ionospheric origin with minor portions of light particles. Comparison of model results with Phobos-2 observations shows reasonable agreement.