A comparative modeling study of the seasonal, temporal, and spatial distribution of meteoroids in the upper atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars

Abstract

The meteoroid input function (MIF) describes the seasonal, diurnal and planetographic distribution of incoming meteoroids onto an atmosphere and/or surface of a solar system body. Utilizing state-of-the-art dynamical models of the main populations of meteoroids, we present a comparative study of the MIF on the atmospheres of Venus, Earth and Mars. Our modeling results show that, although a planet's axial tilt and orbital eccentricity introduce measurable important variability of the overall MIF, excursions from the ecliptic plane due to orbital inclination are responsible for the largest differences, producing variations of up to 40% with respect to the mean value in the overall mass fluxes of Venus and Mars. This is particularly true for meteoroid populations concentrated around the ecliptic plane, which are believed to be the dominant source of organics and metals on the atmospheres of these planets.