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Study of the exosphere of Mercury with the PHEBUS spectrograph on the BepiColombo mission

Robidel, Rozenn

Mercury is the least explored of the inner planets, only three spacecraft have explored it. Mariner 10 observed the planet during three close encounters in 1974 and 1975, unveiling a very thin atmosphere surrounding the planet, somewhat similar to that of the Moon, including hydrogen (H) and helium (He). Sodium (Na), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca)…

X-ray Spectroscopy at Mercury with the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer

Hall, Graeme

In December 2025, the joint ESA and JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft will enter orbit around Mercury to begin a two-year mission. Among the 16 instruments aboard BepiColombo is the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (MIXS), which offers high-resolution (~10 km per pixel) imaging capabilities for low-energy (0-10 keV) X-ray photons. This information wil…