Journal article : Review
Studying the composition and mineralogy of the hermean surface with the Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (MERTIS) for the BepiColombo mission: an update
- Abstract:
- Launched onboard the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) in October 2018, the Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (MERTIS) is on its way to planet Mercury. MERTIS consists of a push-broom IR-spectrometer (TIS) and a radiometer (TIR), which operate in the wavelength regions of 7-14 μm and 7-40 μm, respectively. This wavelength region is characterized by several diagnostic spectral signatures: the Christiansen feature (CF), Reststrahlen bands (RB), and the Transparency feature (TF), which will allow us to identify and map rock-forming silicates, sulfides as well as other minerals. Thus, the instrument is particularly well-suited to study the mineralogy and composition of the hermean surface at a spatial resolution of about 500 m globally and better than 500 m for approximately 5-10% of the surface. The instrument is fully functional onboard the BepiColombo spacecraft and exceeds all requirements (e.g., mass, power, performance). To prepare for the science phase at Mercury, the team developed an innovative operations plan to maximize the scientific output while at the same time saving spacecraft resources (e.g., data downlink). The upcoming fly-bys will be excellent opportunities to further test and adapt our software and operational procedures. In summary, the team is undertaking action at multiple levels, including performing a comprehensive suite of spectroscopic measurements in our laboratories on relevant analog materials, performing extensive spectral modeling, examining space weathering effects, and modeling the thermal behavior of the hermean surface.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, 4.4MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1007/s11214-020-00732-4
Authors
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Journal:
- Space Science Reviews More from this journal
- Volume:
- 216
- Issue:
- 6
- Article number:
- 110
- Publication date:
- 2020-09-11
- Acceptance date:
- 2020-09-01
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1572-9672
- ISSN:
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0038-6308
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Subtype:
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Review
- Pubs id:
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1135140
- Local pid:
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pubs:1135140
- Deposit date:
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2021-04-26
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Hiesinger et al.
- Copyright date:
- 2020
- Rights statement:
- © The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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