Next Talk: 27 January 2025 15:00 CET
Speaker: Dr. Anna Milillo
Institute of Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IAPS), INAF, Italy
Mercury’s environment observed by BepiColombo mission and SERENA experiment
Mercury’s environment is a complex system where the magnetosphere, the exosphere and the surface are inherently coupled and interact with the interplanetary medium that is particularly extreme for its close proximity to the Sun. Mercury lacks a thick atmosphere, and it possesses a weak internal magnetic field which is not able to effectively shield the planet. Previous explorations of this innermost planet include Mariner 10 and the NASA’s MESSENGER mission. Ground-based observations allowed to observe few exospheric elements. Now we know that Mercury’s environment is highly dynamic. The magnetosphere can be fully reconfigured in a few minutes, and the exosphere shows a variability down to 10s minutes. But the new results have opened new unsolved questions about the functioning of this dynamic system, how the magnetosphere responds to the solar activity, and how the exosphere is connected to the surface and to the magnetosphere. For discriminating between space-time variations and for investigating the effects of external drivers to the planet, two spacecraft are needed.
BepiColombo ESA-JAXA mission is en route to Mercury. Two spacecraft will be inserted in orbits around the planet, MPO-Mercury Planetary Orbiter and Mio-Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, respectively. BepiColombo includes a comprehensive payload for the investigation of the environment, the surface and the interior of the planet; moreover, it includes fundamental physics experiments. SERENA particle package on board MPO is a key experiment since it links the observations of near-planet particles both at the surface and at the magnetosphere. During the cruise phase, SERENA ion sensors, PICAM and MIPA, have collected interesting measurements during the swing-bys at Mercury.
The BepiColombo orbit insertion will be performed in November 2026, and the scientific operations will start in 2027. We expect many fantastic results after this very long journey!
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Next Talks in Agenda:
10 February 2025 15:00 CET: Dr. Kostas Dialynas (Academy of Athens, Greece)
