Abstract DGP2026-97

The MaCro Crosslink Experiment on-board of the ESA M7 Candidate Mission M-MATISSE

Pätzold, M. (1), Andert, T.P. (2), Budroweit, J. (3), Plettemeier, D. (4), Tellmann, S. (1), Hahn, M. (1), Vorderobermeier, M. (2), Imamura, T. (5), Ando, H. (6), Genova, A. (7), Noguchi, K. (8), Oschlisniok, J. (1), Peter, K. (1), Schäfer, W. (9), Sanchez-Cano, B. (10), Leblanc, F. (11)

(1) Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung, Abteilung für Planetenforschung, Köln; (2) Institut für Raumfahrttechnik und Weltraumnutzung, Universität der Bundeswehr München; (3) DLR Institut für Weltraumsysteme, Bremen; (4) Lehrstuhl für Hochfrequenztechnik, TU Dresden; (5) University of Tokyo, Japan; (6) University of Kyoto, Japan; (7) University of Rome, Italy; (8) Womens University, Nara, Japan; (9) Timetech GmbH, Stuttgart; (10) University of Leicester, UK; (11) Sorbonne University Paris, France

The Mars Magnetosphere, Atmosphere, Ionosphere and Space-weather SciencE (M-MATISSE) mission is currently under Phase A study by the European Space Agency (ESA) and is one of three candidate missions in the Medium-class (M7) program. M-MATISSE is designed to investigate the complex and highly dynamic coupling between the Martian magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere (MIT coupling), and their interactions with the solar wind (i.e., space weather) and the lower atmosphere.

The mission consists of two spacecraft carrying identical payload suites. The spacecraft, named Henri and Marguerite, will fly in complementary orbits with pericenters at 250 km altitude and apocenters at 3,000 km and 10,000 km, respectively. This dual-spacecraft configuration enables multi-point observations across a wide range of spatial scales.

MaCro, the inter-satellite radio link between Henri and Marguerite, is a key instrument of the mission. Operating simultaneously at UHF and S-band frequencies, MaCro will probe the Martian ionosphere and atmosphere through radio occultation measurements. These measurements occur during ingress and egress occultations, when one spacecraft passes behind the Martian disk as viewed from the other.

This presentation focuses on the scientific objectives and operational aspects of the MaCro instrument. Each occultation event will begin at an altitude of approximately 1,000 km and will sample both the ionosphere—from the ionopause down to about 80 km—and the neutral atmosphere, from roughly 50 km down to the surface. Individual ingress or egress events will last between 10 and 30 minutes, similar to Mars Express radio occultations, while covering an altitude range of about 1,000 km.

The use of two radio frequencies enables a clear separation between dispersive ionospheric plasma effects and neutral atmospheric contributions. Over the prime mission duration of two Earth years, MaCro is expected to acquire approximately 3,200 occultation events, corresponding to four to eight occultations per day. This extensive dataset will provide global coverage across all latitudes, local times, and solar zenith angles, offering an unprecedented characterization of the Martian atmosphere–ionosphere system and its variability.