Search Publications
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…
An appraisal of crustal deformation of the East Coprates Planum, Mars
Dasgupta, Dipayan; Baul, Shankhadeep
Terrestrial planets in the Solar System have been impacted by meteorites from the very beginning of their existence. Mars is a planet that preserves features of tectonic deformation as well as impact-related deformation. East Coprates Planum (ECP) is an area situated on the equatorial region located just on the south of the dichotomy boundary of M…
Synthetic topography from the decameter to the centimeter scale on Mars for scientific and rover operations of the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars mission
Wöhler, C.; Ruesch, O.; Josset, J. -L. +7 more
The ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars platform and rover mission will have complex interactions with the martian surface. In order to plan and perform landing, roving and scientific operations, the morphological characteristics of the terrain surrounding the rover need to be characterized from the decameter to the centimeter spatial scale. The smallest possib…
An empirical model of energetic electrons in Saturn's magnetosphere based on Cassini data
Zhang, Lei; Wang, Jian-zhao; Huo, Zhuo-xi
Based on one-hour average data observed by the MIMI/LEMMS instrument onboard the Cassini spacecraft from 2004 to 2017, we present an empirical model of energetic electrons (27 keV-1937 keV) in Saturn's magnetosphere. This model distinguishes between two different regions. In the inner magnetosphere (<20RS, RS = 60268 km is…
Spatial distributions and origin of hydrated sulfate minerals at the mineral bowl in Ophir Chasma, Mars
Li, Bo; Qiao, Le; Ling, Zongcheng +9 more
Numerous occurrences of hydrated minerals (e.g., phyllosilicate, sulfate) have been found on the surface of Mars by remote sensing and in-situ exploration missions, providing strong evidence of the aqueous environment in Martian history. However, the detailed origin of these hydrated minerals is often controversial, reducing their usefulness in co…
Exploiting night-time averaged spectra from PFS/MEX shortwave channel. Part 1: Temperature retrieval from the CO2ν3 band
Vandaele, Ann Carine; Daerden, Frank; Nardi, Luca +7 more
Nadir remote sensing of the night side of Mars is challenging, mainly due to the low signal-to-noise ratio of such observations. We show in a companion paper that the abundance of carbon monoxide (CO) during night can be retrieved from the observations of the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS). This requires, however, an accurate knowledge of th…
Exploiting night-time averaged spectra from PFS/MEX shortwave channel. Part 2: Near-surface CO retrievals
Vandaele, Ann Carine; Daerden, Frank; Nardi, Luca +7 more
Because of its important role in the Martian carbon cycle, carbon monoxide (CO) has been the subject of many measurements from ground and from space. Daytime measurements have been mostly exploited to measure the CO abundance because of their good signal-to-noise ratio, but night-time observations have not been documented yet. We demonstrate here …
Dynamics of material ejected from the Hatmehit depression and landslides on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Czechowski, Leszek; Kossacki, Konrad J.
In this work we investigate trajectories and regions of deposition of material ejected from depression Hatmehit on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This depression, located on the lobe Head, could be a result of endogenic, possibly still ongoing, activity. We calculated trajectories of the ejecta with different initial velocities and we determined…
On the cryogenic nature of the large hills of Mars
Yakovlev, Valeriy; Horelik, Stanislav; Lytvynenko, Yuliia
The nature of large hills in the Martian equatorial regions like Zephyria Planum and the southern part of Elysium Planitia has not been studied, despite the fact that they have characteristic similar shapes and sharply contrast with the surrounding lava plains. The paper develops the previously proposed view on the permafrost injection nature of t…