Variations in the Chemical Composition of the Ionosphere of Mars Over a Solar Rotation Period

Since 2014, NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft, which orbits Mars, has gathered data to observe how the Sun and solar wind affect the Martian upper atmosphere. The MAVEN data includes the first comprehensive observations of the ionosphere of Mars - a thin layer of charged particles embedded in the upper atmosphere. Our research aims to answer one question: how do ions within the ionosphere respond to the Sun's changing solar flux over a solar rotation period? Using data from MAVEN's NGIMS (Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer) and EUVM (Extreme UltraViolet Monitor), our results show that some ions, such as C+, are highly correlated with the solar flux, while others, such as NO+, are less correlated. Our results show how the chemical composition of the ionosphere of Mars varies over the 27-day solar rotation period, and are used to assess the accuracy of models of the ionosphere of Mars.