Diverting Space Weather over a Weakly-Magnetized Planet: MAVEN Observations of SEP Electron Depletion at Mars

Space weather is a known hazard to planetary atmospheres and habitability. Extreme solar activity may release solar energetic particles (SEPs) that can ionize planetary atmospheres and potentially irradiate the surface, provided the SEPs can reach and "precipitate" into the atmosphere. Prior modeling efforts have suggested that the overall weak and localized magnetism at Mars can attenuate both SEP protons (mildly) and SEP electrons (significantly). We will present data from the MAVEN mission showing SEP electron depletion over Mars, finding that 20-200 keV electrons are shielded from magnetically-closed regions in both weakly and strongly magnetized regions, and are funneled into localized cusps. This suggests that weak localized magnetic fields may channel and deflect some extremely energetic particle inputs.