The BepiColombo Planetary Magnetometer MPO-MAG: What Can We Learn from the Hermean Magnetic Field?

• Published in: Space science reviews Vol. 217; no. 4
• Main Authors: Heyner, D., Auster, H.-U., Fornaçon, K.-H., Carr, C., Richter, I., Mieth, J. Z. D., Kolhey, P., Exner, W., Motschmann, U., Baumjohann, W., Matsuoka, A., Magnes, W., Berghofer, G., Fischer, D., Plaschke, F., Nakamura, R., Narita, Y., Delva, M., Volwerk, M., Balogh, A., Dougherty, M., Horbury, T., Langlais, B., Mandea, M., Masters, A., Oliveira, J. S., Sánchez-Cano, B., Slavin, J. A., Vennerstrøm, S., Vogt, J., Wicht, J., Glassmeier, K.-H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-06-2021; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Aerospace Technology and Astronautics; Astrophysics; Astrophysics and Astroparticles; Bepi Colombo (ESA); Calibration; Earth and Planetary Astrophysics; Field aligned currents; Fluxgate magnetometers; Instrument calibration; Magnetic fields; Magnetometers; Magnetopause; Magnetospheric-solar wind relationships; Mercury; Mercury (planet); Mercury spacecraft; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Planetary magnetic fields; Planetary magnetospheres; Planetary orbiters; Planetology; Polar orbits; Sciences of the Universe; Secular variations; Solar wind; Solar wind turbulence; Space Exploration and Astronautics; Space missions; Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics; The BepiColombo mission to Mercury; Fluxgate; Mercury; Magnetic field; Magnetosphere
• ISSN: 0038-6308; 1572-9672
• DOI: 10.1007/s11214-021-00822-x

The magnetometer instrument MPO-MAG on-board the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) of the BepiColombo mission en-route to Mercury is introduced, with its instrument design, its calibration and scientific targets. The instrument is comprised of two tri-axial fluxgate magnetometers mounted on a 2.9 m boom and are 0.8 m apart. They monitor the magnetic field with up to 128 Hz in a
±
2048
 nT range. The MPO will be injected into an initial
480
×
1500
 km polar orbit (2.3 h orbital period). At Mercury, we will map the planetary magnetic field and determine the dynamo generated field and constrain the secular variation. In this paper, we also discuss the effect of the instrument calibration on the ability to improve the knowledge on the internal field. Furthermore, the study of induced magnetic fields and field-aligned currents will help to constrain the interior structure in concert with other geophysical instruments. The orbit is also well-suited to study dynamical phenomena at the Hermean magnetopause and magnetospheric cusps. Together with its sister instrument Mio-MGF on-board the second satellite of the BepiColombo mission, the magnetometers at Mercury will study the reaction of the highly dynamic magnetosphere to changes in the solar wind. In the extreme case, the solar wind might even collapse the entire dayside magnetosphere. During cruise, MPO-MAG will contribute to studies of solar wind turbulence and transient phenomena.