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Spacecraft Outgassing Observed by the BepiColombo Ion Spectrometers
André, N.; Cornet, T.; Orsini, S. +19 more
During the first flyby of the BepiColombo composite spacecraft at Mercury in October 2021 ion spectrometers observed two intense spectral lines with energies between 10 and 70 eV. The spectral lines persisted also at larger distances from Mercury and were observed again at lower intensity during cruise phase in March 2022 and at the second and thi…
Determining the Influence of the IMF and Planetary Magnetic Field Models on Mercury's Magnetosphere Along Spacecraft Trajectories of MESSENGER, BepiColombo and MPO
Heyner, Daniel; Exner, Willi; Griton, Léa. S.
Mercury's planetary magnetic field models (PMFMs) agree on a majorly dipolar field structure with a northward shift of the magnetic equator. However, due to the northerly biased orbit coverage of past spacecraft missions and different data analyzing methods, the available PMFMs differ in the determined multipole magnitudes for the dipole, quadrupo…
Deep Entry of Low-Energy Ions Into Mercury's Magnetosphere: BepiColombo Mio's Third Flyby Observations
Persson, Moa; Saito, Yoshifumi; Delcourt, Dominique +15 more
Although solar wind-driven convection is expected to dominate magnetospheric circulation at Mercury, its exact pattern remains poorly characterized by observations. Here we present BepiColombo Mio observations during the third Mercury flyby indicative of convection-driven transport of low-energy dense ions into the deep magnetosphere. During the f…
Revised Magnetospheric Model Reveals Signatures of Field-Aligned Current Systems at Mercury
Plaschke, Ferdinand; Exner, W.; Heyner, D. +2 more
Mercury is the smallest and innermost planet of our solar system and has a dipole-dominated internal magnetic field that is relatively weak, very axisymmetric and significantly offset toward north. Through the interaction with the solar wind, a magnetosphere is created. Compared to the magnetosphere of Earth, Mercury's magnetosphere is smaller and…
Extent of the Magnetotail of Venus From the Solar Orbiter, Parker Solar Probe and BepiColombo Flybys
Sorriso-Valvo, Luca; Edberg, Niklas J. T.; Persson, Moa +20 more
We analyze data from multiple flybys by the Solar Orbiter, BepiColombo, and Parker Solar Probe (PSP) missions to study the interaction between Venus' plasma environment and the solar wind forming the induced magnetosphere. Through examination of magnetic field and plasma density signatures we characterize the spatial extent and dynamics of Venus' …