RAAN-dependent Magnetic Connectivity of Jovian Electrons from Mars Orbit

Abstract The influence of the right ascension of the ascending node (RAAN) of a Mars orbiter on magnetic connectivity to Jupiter along Parker-spiral interplanetary magnetic field lines is examined. A highly elliptical Mars orbit (400 × 76,000 km, inclination 54°) referenced from the Tianwen-3 mission concept is adopted to evaluate the geometric accessibility of Jovian electrons using a dual-criteria connectivity metric based on heliolongitude footpoint matching and detector field-of-view alignment. A parametric sweep of RAAN from 0° to 360° reveals two symmetric connectivity windows separated by ∼180°, with mean per-orbit connectivity duty cycles of approximately 4%–6% depending on solar wind speed. The results demonstrate that orbital-plane orientation acts as a primary geometric control on Jovian magnetic accessibility at Mars orbit. This geometric framework provides a simple method for assessing potential observation opportunities for energetic particle detectors in planetary orbit and highlights the importance of orbital-plane configuration in heliospheric observation strategies.