Analysis of Martian topside ionospheric data obtained from Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding onboard Mars Express

The upper ionosphere of Mars has been explored by many spacecraft like Mariners, Mars, Viking, and recently by MGS and MEX. MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding) aboard Mars Express Orbiter is operating from August 2005. MARSIS provides topside ionospheric traces, of which yield electron density profiles for altitudes above the primary ionospheric peak. A large amounts of data is useful for investigation of the Martian ionospheric environments under the changing conditions like solar activity, seasons, and solar zenith angle. We studied the characteristics of the Martian ionosphere through analysis of MARSIS data in the various conditions. We expect that our results contribute for understanding of the Martian ionospheric environment.