Search Publications

Spectral behavior of sulfides in simulated daytime surface conditions of Mercury: Supporting past (MESSENGER) and future missions (BepiColombo)

Hiesinger, H.; Maturilli, A.; Helbert, J. +2 more

To detect the mineral diversity of a planet's surface, it is essential to study the spectral variations over a broad wavelength range at relevant simulated laboratory conditions. The MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging) mission to Mercury discovered that irrespective of its formation closest to the Sun, Mercury…

Mid-infrared spectroscopy of planetary analogs: A database for planetary remote sensing

Helbert, Joern; Hiesinger, Harald; Weber, Iris +4 more

The MERTIS (MErcury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer) instrument onboard the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission will provide mid-infrared data, which will be crucial to characterize the surface mineralogy of Mercury. In order to interpret the results, we are creating a database of mid-infrared spectra. As part of a study of synthetic glasses…

Mutual impedance probe in collisionless unmagnetized plasmas with suprathermal electrons - Application to BepiColombo

Henri, Pierre; Myllys, Minna; Béghin, Christian +4 more

Mutual impedance experiments are active electric probes providing in-situ space plasma measurements. Such active experiments consist of a set of electric antennas used as transmitter(s) and receivers(s) through which various dielectric properties of the plasma can be probed, giving therefore access to key plasma parameters such as, for instance, t…

Global Spectral Properties and Lithology of Mercury: The Example of the Shakespeare (H-03) Quadrangle

Capaccioni, F.; Doressoundiram, A.; Perna, D. +4 more

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging mission showed the surface of Mercury with an accuracy never reached before. The morphological and spectral analyses performed thanks to the data collected between 2008 and 2015 revealed that the Mercurian surface differs from the surface of the Moon, although they look visually very…

Optical design of the High Resolution Imaging Channel of SIMBIO-SYS

Cremonese, Gabriele; Palumbo, Pasquale; Zusi, Michele +4 more

Interplay between Kelvin-Helmholtz and lower-hybrid drift instabilities

Henri, Pierre; Pucci, Francesco; Lavorenti, Federico +3 more

Boundary layers in space and astrophysical plasmas are the location of complex dynamics where different mechanisms coexist and compete, eventually leading to plasma mixing. In this work, we present fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations of different boundary layers characterized by the following main ingredients: a velocity shear, a density gr…

The BepiColombo Laser Altimeter (BELA): a post-launch summary

Thomas, Nicolas; Hussmann, Hauke; Lara, Luisa M.

We provide a brief description of the BepiColombo Laser Altimeter experiment for the joint ESA-JAXA mission to Mercury, BepiColombo. The text describes the main elements of the instrument and discusses several of the problems encountered during the instrument development. The actions taken to mitigate the issues are also described and the resultin…

SIMBIO-SYS/STC stereo camera calibration: Geometrical distortion

Da Deppo, Vania; Slemer, Alessandra; Amoroso, Marilena +10 more

The STereo imaging Channel (STC) is the first push-frame stereo camera on board an European Space Agency (ESA) satellite, i.e., the ESA-Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency mission BepiColombo. It was launched in October 2018, and it will reach its target, Mercury, in 2025. The STC main aim is to provide the global three-dimensional reconstruction o…

BELA transmitter performance and pointing stability verification campaign at DLR-PF

Michaelis, H.; Kallenbach, R.; Hussmann, H. +4 more

BELA is the first European planetary laser altimeter and shall be launched onboard of ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) as part of the BepiColombo spacecraft in October 2018. The complete development of the instrument was done in collaboration with team members in Switzerland, Germany and Spain. The transmitter is also the first space-qualifie…

Optical design of the High Resolution Imaging Channel of SIMBIO-SYS: publisher's note

Cremonese, Gabriele; Palumbo, Pasquale; Zusi, Michele +4 more