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This chapter summarizes our current understanding of the ionosphere of Saturn. We give an overview of Saturn ionospheric science from the Voyager era to the present, with a focus on the wealth of new data and discoveries enabled by Cassini, including a massive increase in the number of electron density altitude profiles. We discuss recent ground-based detection of the effect of "ring rain" on Saturn's ionosphere, and present possible model interpretations of the observations. Finally, we outline current model-data discrepancies and indicate how future observations can help in advancing our understanding of the various controlling physical and chemical processes., Comment: 34 pages, 17 figures, Chapter 8 of a forthcoming multi-volume work entitled "Saturn in the 21st Century"

We present results from the two radio occultations of the Cassini spacecraft by Titan in 2006, which probed mid-southern latitudes. Three of the ingress and egress soundings occurred within a narrow latitude range, 31.34 deg S near the surface, and the fourth at 52.8 deg S. Temperature - altitude profiles for all four occultation soundings are presented, and compared with the results of the Voyager 1 radio occultation (Lindal et al., 1983), the HASI instrument on the Huygens descent probe (Fulchignoni et al., 2005), and Cassini CIRS results (Flasar et al., 2005; Achterberg et al., 2008b). Sources of error in the retrieved temperature - altitude profiles are also discussed, and a major contribution is from spacecraft velocity errors in the reconstructed ephemeris. These can be reduced by using CIRS data at 300 km to make along-track adjustments of the spacecraft timing. The occultation soundings indicate that the temperatures just above the surface at 31-34 deg S are about 93 K, while that at 53 deg S is about 1 K colder. At the tropopause, the temperatures at the lower latitudes are all about 70 K, while the 53 deg S profile is again 1 K colder. The temperature lapse rate in the lowest 2 km for the two ingress (dawn) profiles at 31 and 33 deg S lie along a dry adiabat except within approximately 200m of the surface, where a small stable inversion occurs. This could be explained by turbulent mixing with low viscosity near the surface. The egress profile near 34 deg S shows a more complex structure in the lowest 2 km, while the egress profile at 53 deg S is more stable.

The Galileo orbiter has provided radio occultation measurements of the electron density profiles of the plasma surrounding lo and Europa. There have been six occultations of Io, providing twelve electron density profiles at various locations relative to the ram direction of the impinging particles of the Jupiter magnetosphere on Io, and eight profiles on Europa. The two satellites were found to have very different plasma environments, with Io having a proper ionosphere produced on top of an endogenous SO2 atmosphere by magnetospheric particle precipitation and solar EUV, while Europa has a tenuous plasma environment produced by the same mechanisms from an oxygen atmosphere itself also produced by sputtering of water ice from its surface by impinging magnetospheric particles. In both cases the observed electron density profiles are highly asymmetrical, with a compressed profile on the ram side, and an extended one on the wake side. The presence of several measurements for each satellite at different ram-to-wake directions provided data for estimating an approximate distribution of ionization from the ram direction to the wake direction.

The ongoing Galileo mission has provided many new insights into the Jovian system. Among them are new discoveries from the Radio Science investigations , including multiple measurements of the Jovian ionosphere, the ionospheres and plasma environments of Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, and the internal structure of the Galilean satellites. The Cassini spacecraft, which will be placed in orbit about Saturn in 2004, will conduct Radio Science investigations of many aspects of the Saturnian system with a radio instrument of unprecedented stability and versatility. It will use radio links at three wavelengths : S-band(13 cm), X-band (3.5 cm), and Ka-band (1 cm) to probe the atmospheres and ionospheres of Saturn and Titan and Saturn's rings by means of radio occultations, and to measure the masses and gravity fields of Saturn, Titan, and selected icy satellites by precision tracking. In addition, the stability of the radio instrument will be utilized to conduct a search for gravitational waves during solar oppositions, and to precisely measure general relativistic effects during solar conjunctions during the interplanetary cruise prior to arrival at Saturn.

The Galileo orbiter has provided radio occultation measurements of the electron density profiles of the plasma surrounding Io and Europa. There have been six occultations of Io, providing twelve electron density profiles at various locations relative to the ram direction of the impinging particles of the Jupiter magnetosphere on Io, and eight profiles on Europa. The two satellites were found to have very different plasma environments, with Io having a proper ionosphere produced on top of an endogenous SO2 atmosphere by magnetospheric particle precipitation and solar EUV, while Europa has a tenuous plasma environment produced by the same mechanisms from an oxygen atmosphere itself also produced by sputtering of water ice from its surface by impinging magnetospheric particles. In both cases the observed electron density profiles are highly asymmetrical, with a compressed profile on the ram side, and an extended one on the wake side. The presence of several measurements for each satellite at different ram-to-wake directions provided data for estimating an approximate distribution of ionization from the ram direction to the wake direction, which were compared with the results of MHD simulations.

The availability of a large body of radio occultation data for the Mars and Venus ionospheres makes possible comparative studies of their structures and temporal behavior. On Venus, the nightside ionosphere is produced by the transport of ionization from the dayside, which operates at solar maximum when the ionopause is high, and impact ionization by energetic electrons, which operates at all times. On Mars, transport from the dayside would seem to be inhibited for the same reason as for Venus at solar minimum, although sufficient flux of energetic electrons is present to generate nightside ionization. The Venus ionosphere at solar minimum, and that of Mars at all times, are not in a state of diffusive equilibrium above the chemical equilibrium regions.

Results are presented of observations from the changes in the electron density structure of the dayside ionosphere of Venus that were brought about by changing solar activity. The ionopause height is generally low for values of the solar zenith angle below about 50 deg regardless of the phase in the solar cycle. At solar maximum, and at times of intermediate solar activity, the ionopause height for solar zenith angles greater than about 50 deg is highly variable, ranging from a minimum of about 200 km to a maximum of more than 1000 km. At times of solar minimum the great majority of all ionopause heights for all solar zenith angles are uniformly low, lying between 200 and 300 km. It is argued that the compressed nature of the Venus atmosphere at solar minimum is produced by permeation of the ionosphere by the solar wind magnetic field, which occurs when the solar wind dynamic pressure exceeds the ionospheric plasma pressure.

The behavior of the Venus nightside ionosphere at solar maximum and solar minimum is discussed based on Pioneer Venus radio occultation measurements. Although some solar maximum measurements are similar to those observed at minimum, which have an average peak density of about 7000/cu cm, others show much higher peak densities, reaching values of about 40,000/cu cm. These elevated peak densities also occur at higher altitudes. The integrated electron column densities for these measurements indicate the presence of substantial ionization above the main peak. The magnitudes of both the peak density and the integrated content above the peak are anticorrelated with the solar wind dynamic pressure, indicating that these enhancements during solar maximum are due to transterminator transport of O(+) ions from the dayside. The resulting ionization peak can be many times the concentration produced by energetic electron fluxes impacting the neutral atmosphere on the nightside.

Remote sensing radio occultation measurements are used here to study magnetization of the ionospheres of Venus and Mars. For Venus, the measurements yield results on frequency of occurrence of magnetization during solar maximum that are similar to those obtained from Pioneer Venus in situ magnetic field measurements. During solar minimum, magnetization of the Venus ionosphere is more pervasive than at solar maximum. Magnetization extends to higher solar zenith angles and appears stronger than at solar maximum. These results confirm that during solar minimum the high solar wind dynamic pressure state is more prevalent at Venus because the ionospheric plasma pressure is weaker than at solar maximum. Comparison of a large number of electron density profiles of Mars with those of Venus shows an absence of the ledge and disturbed topside plasma observed in the Venus profiles. These results do not constitute evidence against magnetization of the ionosphere of Mars.

Vertical profiles of electron density in the dayside ionosphere of Venus, measured by the Pioneer Venus radio occultation experiment, averaged in bins of solar zenith angle, have been used to examine the behavior of the ionospheric thermal structure with the solar cycle. It was found that the plasma scale height decreased by a factor ranging from 1.5 at 190 km to about 3.0 at 300 km altitude as the solar input went from maximum to minimum. If the assumption of diffusive equilibrium holds above h = 180 km for both the times of solar maximum and solar minimum, similar decreases in the plasma temperature and, consequently, the electron and ion temperatures, are inferred. If, however, diffusive equilibrium conditions do not apply at the time of solar activity minimum, perhaps due to the effects of enhanced solar wind interaction, no information on the plasma temperatures is contained in the data on the topside electron density structure.

Results are presented on the long-term behavior of the main peak electron density in the Venus ionosphere during the solar cycle 21, based on 104 radio occultation measurements of the vertical electron density profile in the dayside ionosphere of Venus carried out aboard the Pioneer Venus Orbiter spacecraft (along with published data on 11 Venera 9-10 measurements). The equation representing the electron temperature at h = 140 km is presented. The results imply that the electron temperature at h = 140 km decreased by about 25 percent from solar maximum to solar minimum, compared to a decrease of 50-75 percent above 200 km found by Kliore and Mullen (1989).

The observation of S-band (2.3 GHz) radio scintillations in the ionosphere of Venus by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter is reported. In situ plasma measurements and propagation calculations show that the scintillations are caused by electron density irregularities in the topside ionosphere of Venus below the ionopause. It is suggested that these topside plasma irregularities are associated with the penetration of large-scale magnetic fields in the ionosphere. It is found that the disturbed plasma and the scintillations are a manifestation of high-dynamic solar wind interaction with the ionosphere.

Using new and previous experimental evidence, it is argued that the height-integrated flux of O(+) ions transported from the dayside Venus ionosphere into the nightside ionosphere is strongly reduced (shut off) at solar cycle minimum (SCmin) and that the electron impact source becomes the predominant nightside ionization source during this phase of the solar cycle. The height-integrated transterminator O(+) flux, which is probably the dominant nightside ionization source at solar cycle maximum (SCmax), is shut off at SCmin by compression of the dayside ionopause to low altitude. It is suggested that the ionopause is depressed because the dayside ionospheric kinetic pressure field is reduced by a factor of approximately 3 from its SCmas value and that the typical SCmin solar wind dynamic pressure, which is not less than the typical SCmax value, cannot be balanced by the ionospheric pressure field at altitudes above approximately 250 km.

The Mars Aeronomy Observer (MAO) is a candidate follow-on mission to Mars Observer (MO) in the Planetary Observer Program. The four Mariner and two Viking spacecraft sent to Mars between 1965 and 1976 have provided a wealth of information concerning Martian planetology. The Mars Observer, to be launched in 1990, will build on their results by further examining the elemental and mineralogical composition of the surface, the strength and multipolar composition of the planetary magnetic field, the gravitational field and topography, and the circulation of the lower atmosphere. The Mars Aeronomy Observer is intended to address the last major aspects of Martian environment which have yet to be investigated: the upper atmosphere, the ionsphere, and the solar wind interaction region.