Computation of Aerodynamic Drag in the Martian Atmosphere.

Kurzfassung

The modeling of the Martian atmospheric density for aerodynamic drag computation is discussed in the framework of the Mars 96 project. To this end the Stewart density model is described in detail comprising a critical review. Since the density signifi- cantly depends on the incident solar radiation, emphasis has been given to the modeling of 10.7cm solar flux and its impact on the exospheric temperature. Making use data from a new solar activity cycle a least-squares fit with a periodic function model has been performed. Comparing the flux forecast with the revised and original Stewart model reveals, however, that no substantial improvement with respect the original Stewart model can be achieved. For reference, a revised FORTRAN 90 implementation of the Stewart model is given in the appendix.