First Results of Mars Express - ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Mutual Radio
Occultation
Abstract
Spacecraft-to-spacecraft radio occultations experiments are being
conducted at Mars between the Mars Express (MEX) and Trace Gas Orbiter
(TGO) spacecraft, the first ever periodic inter-spacecraft occultations
at a planet other than Earth. Here we present results from the first 83
such occultations, conducted between
2\textsuperscript{nd} Nov 2020 and
5\textsuperscript{th} of July 2023. Of these, 44
observations have to-date resulted in the extraction of vertical
electron density profiles. These observations are the successful results
of a major feasibility study conducted by the European Space Agency to
use pre-existing relay communication equipment for radio science
purposes. Mutual radio occultations have numerous advantages over
traditional spacecraft-to-ground station occultations. In this work, we
demonstrate how raw data are transformed into electron density values
and validated with models and other instruments.