Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p41a1607m&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P41A-1607
Physics
[5405] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Atmospheres, [5470] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Surface Materials And Properties, [5494] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Instruments And Techniques, [6235] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Mercury
Scientific paper
In-situ measurement of Mercury's bound, neutral exosphere by the new mass spectrometer Strofio onboard ESA's BepiColombo mission will yield a full picture of exospheric constituents, including those species that evade detection by remote sensing techniques. Inferring surface composition from detection, both absolute near-surface densities and relative abundances, requires a modeling effort that accounts for the release process and transport of the particles through the collisionless exosphere. The instrument has a velocity acceptance cone with ram enhancement capable of detecting a sizeable but incomplete region of velocity space, imposing the need for more than a scale height calculation to accurately determine local density. We have employed Liouville's theorem to connect the observable phase space distribution from the BepiColombo spacecraft altitude (400-1500 km) to the surface capable of extrapolating to absolute abundances. Further, transport and sensing bias can be removed to better report the ratios for species of interest, notably Na/K and isotopic 40Ar/36Ar. With this model, surface flux variations dependent on magnetic latitude or local time can be deconvolved from the measured exospheric density with spatial resolution comparable to spacecraft altitude. Instrumental techniques for suppressing background gas detection from the tenuous exospheric population will also be discussed.
Livi Stefano A.
Miles Paul F.
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