A study on the contribution of the interplanetary medium in radio occultation experiments

Abstract

Irregularities in electron density within the interplanetary medium (IPM) can cause fluctuations in the Doppler frequency of spacecraft radio signals. The amplitude of these fluctuations depends on factors such as the carrier frequency, propagation geometry, and link configuration. However, quantitative characterization of these effects across different frequencies in various occultation experiments is currently limited. We analyze five complementary datasets: two-way S-band observations from Chandrayaan-3 outside the lunar ionosphere, two-way S-band data from Chandrayaan-2 during lunar occultation, one-way S/X band measurements from the Venus Express Radio Science (VeRa)/Akatsuki Radio Science (Akatsuki) under IPM-only conditions, and one-way X-band Akatsuki data during solar occultation. The Chandrayaan-3 and Akatsuki IPM observations isolate IPM effects by excluding contributions from planetary atmospheres, the lunar ionosphere, and, except during solar occultation, the solar corona. Chandrayaan-3 data sample dynamically evolving Earth–Moon geometries and exhibit weak, mHz-level Doppler fluctuations, while Chandrayaan-2 observations provide near-lunar plasma benchmarks with higher amplitudes, during quiet time solar and geomagnetic conditions. Akatsuki and VeRa's IPM-only measurements capture long-path interplanetary effects, whereas Akatsuki solar occultation data reveal strong coronal signatures. Power spectral density analysis indicates Kolmogorov-like turbulence for lunar occultation and solar occultation cases, while IPM-only spectra show low-amplitude fluctuations. These results quantify the IPM contribution to Doppler noise, demonstrate the enhanced plasma sensitivity of two-way coherent links, and provide constraints relevant to turbulence modeling, precision spacecraft tracking, and the interpretation of radio occultation experiments. © 2026 Elsevier Inc.