A new perspective on Mercury's surface composition and temperatures: Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (MERTIS)

Kurzfassung

MERTIS (MErcury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer), scheduled for launch on board the Bepi Colombo Mercury Orbiter, will be the first mid-infrared imaging spectrometer to explore the innermost planet of the Solar System from orbit. The instrument is an advanced IR technology designed to study the surface composition, and surface temperature variations of planet Mercury. High resolution and global mid-IR spectral and temperature data obtained by MERTIS will contribute to a better understanding of Mercury's genesis and evolution. MERTIS uses an uncooled microbolometer detector array. It combines a push-broom IR grating spectrometer (TIS) with a radiometer (TIR) sharing the same optics, instrument electronics, and in-fight calibration components for a wavelength range of 7-14 and 7-40 μm, respectively. The paper summarizes the scientific objectives, observational goals, comparative laboratory spectral studies of mineral analogues, and introduces the technical overview and actual instrument development status of the experiment.