The Influence of the Stretch of Mini‐Magnetospheres Formed by Crustal Fields on the Martian Bow Shock Location

Abstract Mars lacks an intrinsic dipolar magnetic field but possesses strong crustal magnetic fields scattered across its surface. There has been an ongoing debate about how these crustal fields influence the bow shock, the outermost plasma boundary of the Martian space environment. Based on a large data set of manually identified shock crossings by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, we present clear evidence that the enlarged bow shock location depends on the underlying crustal magnetic field location. This dependence is more pronounced for near subsolar shocks but becomes more dispersed for near terminator shocks. On average, the enlarged shocks are shifted tailward relative to the strongest crustal field location. These observations suggest that the mini‐magnetospheres formed by crustal fields can protrude beyond the induced magnetopause and stretch tailward, thereby shifting the enlarged Martian bow shock location.