1,- 1National Space Science Center, CAS, State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Beijing, China (wyli@spaceweather.ac.cn)
- 2Institute of Science and Technology for Deep Space Exploration, Suzhou Campus, Nanjing University, Suzhou, 215009, P. R. China.
The Mars Ion and Neutral Particle Analyzer (MINPA), one of the seven scientific payloads aboard the Tianwen-1 orbiter, was specifically designed to investigate the interaction between the solar wind and Mars by measuring ions and energetic neutral atoms (ENAs). This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of MINPA's in-flight operations and its ENA observations from 2021 to 2025. MINPA successfully collected ENA data during observations of the solar wind, magnetosheath, and magnetotail. The in-flight performance was carefully analyzed, including energy and angular response, seasonal variations in the ENA counts, and secondary ENA caused by ion-neutralization on the spacecraft surface. Statistical analysis of solar wind H-ENAs revealed a neutralization rate at the flanks of the Martian magnetosphere, which was used to derive the coincident Jeans escape rate and pick-up ion generation rate. Preliminary results also include the asymmetry of the ENA scattering associated with the crustal magnetic field and the intense enhancement of the ENA signal during CMEs.
How to cite: Li, W., Ma, J., and Kong, L.: Tianwen-1/MINPA operations and ENA science results, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-15474, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-15474, 2026.
