Publications

Version: 1.1 Approved

LDO-ID 2019-08-29-01

Title SIMBIO-SYS: cameras and spectrometer for the BepiColombo mission

Abstract

The Spectrometer and Imagers for MPO Bepicolombo Integrated Observa- tory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS) is a suite of three optical heads that will provide plenty of data of the Mercury surface. The scienti c objectives at mission level require, for SIMBIO-SYS, the global mapping of STC and VIHI in the  rst six months of the nominal mission. It means they will provide data on the surface composition and the Digital Terrain Models of the entire planet. Since the MPO orbit will not be strongly elliptical, as it was for MESSENGER (480x1500 km vs. 200x15193 km), the spatial resolution of the images at the periherm and at the poles, the main orbit arc used for the global mapping, will be di erent of only a factor two. The observing strategy of SIMBIO-SYS is based on this requirement and includes high resolution images of 20% of the surface (HRIC). STC and VIHI in the second half of the nominal mission will  ll holes left in the global mapping, then VIHI will observe selected regions at a spatial resolution a factor four better than during the previous phase. STC will acquire 4 color images of selected regions, as during the global map- ping will acquire stereo pairs using the two panchromatic  lters. SIMBIO-SYS has been selected on 2004, together with all the instruments on board Bepi- Colombo, and soon after has been selected the prime, that is Leonardo spa located nearby Florence (Italy). It is the result of the collaboration of Italian and French scientists and engineers funded by the two space agencies, ASI and CNES. It is the  rst time on a planetary mission to have three remote sensing instru- ments under the responsibility of one team. On one hand it adds complexity to the operations and the observing strategy, on the other hand it increases the scienti c return, as any member of the science team may put together in- formation on the composition, the morphology and on high resolution details of any feature of the Mercury surface. The science team is working and it will discuss and accurately prepare the observing strategy assigning the priority to the targets that will be observed at high spatial resolution, according to speci c morphological and compositional analysis. Several tools are going to be realized in order to provide high level product using the data acquired by the three channels, from the Digital Terrain Models generation (ref.) to the hyperspectral cubes

Authors Cremonese Gabriele, Aroldi Michele, Baroni Marco, Borrelli Donato, Dami Michele, Ficai Veltroni Iacopo, Paolinetti Riccardo, Rossi Maurizio, Tommasi Leonardo, Turella Andrea

Type Paper for Specialistic Magazine

Media Space Science Reviews (Springer AG, Volume: 216, June 2020)

Web site

Anno 2020