BepiColombo

BepiColombo is JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and ESA (European Space Agency cooperative Mercury exploration mission.
Simultaneous Launch of MMO (Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter) and MPO (Mercury Planetary Orbiter) is planned in 2018.

We are developing Mercury Sodium Atmospheric Spectral Imager “MSASI” to be installed in MMO. We are also developing detectors for the Mercury outer space ultraviolet spectroscopic observation machine “PHEBUS” mounted on the MPO.

 

 

MSASI(Mercury Sodium Atmosphere Spectral Imager)

Mercury has a thin atmosphere mainly composed of sodium, but its source is not known. MSASI detects weak light emitted by sodium and explores the distribution of the sodium atmosphere.

Copyright : JAXA

 

PHEBUS(Probing of Hermean Exosphere By Ultraviolet Spectroscopy)

Mercury’s atmosphere contains not only hydrogen and helium originating in the solar wind but also elements such as sodium boiled from Mercury’s surface due to the intense sunlight. PHEBUS will reveal the existence of unidentified elements of the Mercury atmosphere and will examine the detailed structure and dynamics by ultraviolet spectroscopic observation.