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One of the complicating factors of the future robotic and human lunar landing missions is the influence of the dust. The upper insulating regolith layer is electrically charged by the solar ultraviolet radiation and the flow of solar wind particles. Resulted electric charge and thus surface potential depend on the lunar local time, latitude and the electrical properties of the regolith. Understanding of mechanisms of the dust electric charging, dust levitation and electric charging of a lander on the lunar surface is essential for interpretation of measurements of the instruments of the Luna-Glob lander payload, e.g. the Dust Impact sensor and the Langmuir Probe. One of the tools, which allows simulating the electric charging of the regolith and lander and also the transport and deposition of the dust particles on the lander surface, is the recently developed Spacecraft Plasma Interaction Software toolkit, called the SPIS-DUST. This paper describes the SPIS-DUST numerical simulation of the interaction between the solar wind plasma, ultraviolet radiation, regolith and a lander and presents as result qualitative and quantitative data of charging the surfaces, plasma sheath and its influence on spacecraft sensors, dust dynamics. The model takes into account the geometry of the Luna-Glob lander, the electric properties of materials used on the lander surface, as well as Luna-Glob landing place. Initial conditions are chosen using current theoretical models of formation of dusty plasma exosphere and levitating charged dust particles. Simulation for the three cases (local lunar noon, evening and sunset) showed us the surrounding plasma sheath around the spacecraft which gives a significant potential bias in the spacecraft vicinity. This bias influences on the spacecraft sensors but with SPIS software we can estimate the potential of uninfluenced plasma with the data from the plasma sensors (Langmuir probes). SPIS-DUST modification allows us to get the dust dynamics properties. For our three cases we've obtained the dust densities around the spacecraft and near the surface of the Moon. As another practical result of this work we can count a suggestion of improving of dusty plasma instrument for the next mission: it must be valuable to relocate the plasma sensors to a distant boom at some distance from the spacecraft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of Io with the Jovian magnetosphere is the best known – and the most intense – case of satellite–magnetosphere interaction. The interaction involves a power of more than a TeraWatt, a few percent of which are transferred to electrons. These electrons precipitate in the Jovian ionosphere where they light-up bright auroral emissions (several 100's kR to a few 1000's kR). The brightness of the Io-controlled UV auroras is known to vary, due to the Jovian magnetic field tilt, which induces longitudinal variations, and due to the Io torus ever changing parameters (possibly due to Io's volcanic activity), which induce a temporal variation. As Io-controlled UV auroras have been monitored for a long time, the variation of their brightness is well-documented, and the typical amplitude of these variations has been established. However, on June 7, 2007 an unusual event occurred in the plasma torus surrounding Io, which triggered its own UV emissions on Jupiter in a region mapping to Io's orbit. When Io reached that region, Io's auroral footprint disappeared, its brightness dimming by at least a factor of three to be below the background aurora brightness. Both the auroral event at such a low latitude and the Io footprint disappearance are events that have never been observed before and should be quite rare. However, the question of how the bright Io footprint becomes that weak remains. From a theoretical point-of-view, the Io–Jupiter interaction has been widely studied. In the 80's, it was shown that Alfvén waves are radiated from Io, carrying currents to Jupiter. In the late-2000's, studies showed that dispersive Alfvén waves were likely to cause the acceleration of the electrons powering the auroral emissions, although Io-scale Alfvén waves should be non-dispersive. More recently, a model was built which permits one to compute the ratio between dispersive and non-dispersive waves in the auroral region for satellite–magnetosphere interactions, and thus the brightness of the related aurorae. We use this model to investigate which variation of the interaction parameters could lead to the Io footprint disappearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of Io with the Jovian magnetosphere creates the best known and brightest satellite-controlled aurorae in our solar system. These aurorae are generated by the precipitation of electrons, which are accelerated by the Alfvén waves carrying the current between the satellite and the planet. A recent study computed the energy deposited on top of Jupiter's ionosphere due to the electron precipitation and retrieved the correct mean brightness of Io-related aurorae. The model developed in this study takes into account the acceleration mechanism and the Alfvén wave propagation effects. We use the same method to investigate the brightness variation of the different components of the Io footprint as a function of longitude. These observations are discussed in a companion paper. We identify several effects that act together to modulate the footprint brightness such as Alfvén wave reflections, magnetic mirroring of the electrons, the local interaction at Io and kinetic effects close to Jupiter. We identify the effects contributing the most to the modulation of the brightnesses of the three brightest components of the Io footprints: the main and reflected Alfvén wing spots and the transhemispheric electron spot. We show in particular that the modulation of the efficiency of the electron acceleration can be of greater importance than the modulation of the power generated at Io. We reproduce the average modulation of the spot brightnesses and present an extensive discussion of possible explanations for the observed features not reproduced by our model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of the solar wind dynamic pressure on Jupiter auroral radio emissions at decametric wavelengths that are not controlled by the electrodynamic interaction with the moon Io (non-Io DAM). In order to conduct this study, Nançay decametric array radio data are analyzed for the 1996–1999 period. Solar wind conditions at Jupiter''s orbit are studied using the Michigan University solar wind propagation model (mSWiM). Interplanetary fast shocks (forward shocks, FS, or reverse shocks, RS), and average solar wind dynamic pressure are correlated with non-Io DAM emission occurrence, duration and power. It is found that non-Io DAM emissions occur preferentially during periods of enhanced solar wind dynamic pressure and after a FS or a RS arrival at Jupiter. The dawn (non-Io B-type) and dusk (non-Io-A-type) radio emissions are investigated separately and show (1) a dawn-dusk asymmetry consistent with prior studies and auroral ultraviolet (UV) observations, and (2) different behaviors in response to solar wind shocks. Our study confirms the solar wind control of – at least a part of – the non-Io DAM, and refines the scenario of response of the radio emissions to the solar wind interaction with the Jovian magnetosphere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Io-controlled radio arcs are emissions in the decametric radio range which appear arc shaped in the time–frequency plane. Their occurrence is controlled by Io''s position, so it has been for long inferred that they are powered by the Io–Jupiter electrodynamic interaction. Their frequency ranges correspond to the electron cyclotron frequencies along the Io Flux tube, so they are expected to be generated by cyclotron maser instability (CMI). The arc shape was proposed to be a consequence of the strong anisotropy of the decametric radio emissions beaming, combined with the topology of the magnetic field in the source and the observation geometry. Recent papers succeeded at reproducing the morphologies of a few typical radio arcs by modeling in three dimensions the observation geometry, using the best available magnetic field model and a beaming angle variation consistent with a loss-cone driven CMI. In the continuation of these studies, we present here the systematic modeling of a larger number of observations of the radio arcs emitted in Jupiter''s southern hemisphere (including multiple arcs or arcs exhibiting abrupt changes of shape), which permits to obtain a statistical determination of the emitting field line localization (lead angle) relative to the instantaneous Io field line, and of the emitting particle velocities or energies. Variations of these parameters relative to Io''s longitude are also measured and compared to the location of the UV footprints of the Io–Jupiter interaction. It is shown that the data are better organized in a reference frame attached to the UV spot resulting from the main Alfvén wing resulting from the Io–Jupiter interaction. It is proposed that the radio arcs are related to the first reflected Alfvén wing rather than to the main one. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In order to investigate Pc3-4 geomagnetic pulsations at very low and equatorial latitudes, L=1.0 to 1.2, we analyzed simultaneous geomagnetic data from Brazilian stations for 26 days during October–November 1994. The multitaper spectral method based on Fourier transform and singular value decomposition was used to obtain pulsation power spectra, polarization parameters and phase. Eighty-one (81) simultaneous highly polarized Pc3-4 events occurring mainly during daytime were selected for the study. The diurnal events showed enhancement in the polarized power density of about 3.2 times for pulsations observed at stations close to the magnetic equator in comparison to the more distant ones. The phase of pulsation observed at stations near the magnetic equator showed a delay of 48–62° in relation to the most distant one. The peculiarities shown by these Pc3-4 pulsations close to the dip equator are attributed to the increase of the ionospheric conductivity and the intensification of the equatorial electrojet during daytime that regulates the propagation of compressional waves generated in the foreshock region and transmitted to the magnetosphere and ionosphere at low latitudes. The source mechanism of these compressional Pc3-4 modes may be the compressional global mode or the trapped fast mode in the plasmasphere driving forced field line oscillations at very low and equatorial latitudes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]