Geomagnetic induction study using the NetLander network of magnetometers

The NetLander mission will provide a unique opportunity to probe the internal structure of Mars from continuous magnetic recordings at the surface of the planet. When the resistivity varies only with depth only, and the externally originating variations are homogeneous at the scale of the studied area, the resistivity distribution can be related to the ratio of the vertical magnetic field to the spatial gradients of the horizontal magnetic field. Assuming the field at the surface of Mars behaves as a superposition of plane waves, the spatial gradient determination is equivalent to wave vectors identification. We present a multi-point data analysis technique initially developed in the frame of Cluster, the future ESA multi-spacecraft mission. It allows to obtain optimum frequency–wave vector spectra estimation from simultaneous magnetic field recordings made at a subset of three NetLander stations. The analysis of synthetic data have made it possible to study the effects of experimental constraints for NetLander on the frequency–wave vector spectrum estimation.