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Cross-comparison of global simulation models applied to Mercury's dayside magnetosphere

André, N.; Budnik, E.; Génot, V. +14 more

We present the first comparison of multiple global simulations of the solar wind interaction with Mercury's dayside magnetosphere, conducted in the framework of the international collaborative project SHOTS - Studies on Hermean magnetosphere Oriented Theories and Simulations. Two 3D magnetohydrodynamic and two 3D hybrid simulation codes are used t…

Orbital evolution of the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) in the gravity field of Mercury

Oberst, Jürgen; Hussmann, Hauke; Stark, Alexander +2 more

We assessed the impact of the uncertainties in the gravity field harmonic coefficients of Mercury on the orbital evolution of the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), part of the European-Japanese BepiColombo mission. We used in our simulations the most recent estimation of the gravity field model of Mercury determined from radio tracking data of the …

Comprehensive in-orbit performance evaluation of the BepiColombo Laser Altimeter (BELA)

Thomas, Nicolas; Hussmann, Hauke; Pommerol, Antoine +7 more

The BepiColombo Laser Altimeter (BELA) is on its way to Mercury on board the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), one of the two spacecraft of the BepiColombo mission. It will arrive at Mercury in December 2025 and start measurements of Mercury's surface and environment. The goal of this study is to analyze the performance of BELA by using a comprehen…