Asset Publisher

Magnetospheric Orbiter

Magnetospheric Orbiter

Summary

Magnetospheric Orbiter

Magnetospheric Orbiter

Seven detectors in the Magneto-spheric Orbiter will observe Mercury's magnetic field and its interactions with the wind of atomic particles coming from the Sun. Like the Earth's magnetic field, Mercury's is bottled up in a magnetosphere, with a comet-like tail extending down wind. But the scale is much smaller, the Sun is much closer, and Mercury is virtually without an atmosphere, so scientists will be fascinated to discover the similarities and differences between Mercury's and the Earth's magnetospheres.

The Magnetospheric Orbiter performs in-situ field, wave and particle research with the instruments listed below. The spacecraft spins at 15 rpm with its axis perpendicular to the equatorial plane. The orbit is polar and the period of 9.3 hours is a multiple of that of the planetary orbiter. The line of apsides lies in the equatorial plane, and the pericentre and apocentre cover the altitude range 400 - 12 000 km, which makes it possible to explore the magnetotail up to planetocentric distances of almost six planetary radii.

Table of instruments

Scientific instruments for the Magnetospheric Orbitor.

Acronym

Instrument

Range

MAG

Dual 3-axis fluxgate magnetometer

± 4096 nT

IMS

Ion mass spectrometer

50 eV-35 keV

EEA

Electron electrostatic analyser

0-30 keV

CPA

Cold plasma analyser

0-50 eV

EPD

Energetic plasma detector

30-300 keV

RPW-H

Wave analyser search coil

0.1 Hz-1 MHz

RPW-E

Wave analyser electric antenna

0.1 Hz-16 MHz

PIE

Positive ion emitter

1-100 µA

SCAM

Camera

350-1000 nm

Instrument objectives

 

MAG

IMS

EEA

CPA

EPD

RPW-H

RPW-E

PIE

SCAM

Morphology

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

Structure

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Composition

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mineralogy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

Exosphere

 

X

X

X

 

 

 

 

X

Magnetosphere

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

 

Solar wind

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

 

Last Update: 1 September 2019
2-Feb-2025 03:59 UT

ShortUrl Portlet

Shortcut URL

https://sci.esa.int/s/wQd0NrA

Asset Publisher

Related Articles

Images And Videos

Related Publications

Related Links

See Also

Documentation