The canonical picture of the magnetotail of unmagnetized planets consists of draped interplanetary magnetic fields (IMF) forming opposite-directed lobes, separated by the current sheet. \citet{DiBraccio2018twisted} showed that Mars’ magnetotail has a twist departing from this picture. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) results suggest that open field lines connected to the planet that populate portions of the tail cause the apparent twist. To validate this interpretation, we compare the tail topology determined from MHD simulations to that inferred from data collected by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, in particular how each topology responds to the upstream IMF orientation. The occurrence rates for open topology from both data and MHD varies with IMF polarities in a similar fashion as the tail twisting. This suggests that Mars’ crustal fields have a global effect on the magnetosphere configuration, supporting the picture of a “hybrid” magnetotail that is partly induced/draped and partly intrinsic/planetary in origin.
