The BepiColombo Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer
摘要
The Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (MIXS) and Solar Intensity X-ray and particle Spectrometer (SIXS) on board the BepiColombo mission are due to arrive at Mercury in 2025. The data from these instruments will revolutionise our understanding of Mercury’s surface composition, as well as the interaction between the surface, magnetosphere, and exosphere of Mercury with its near space environment. In addition, SIXS will provide a unique vantage point for observing X-ray emission from the solar corona. This capability is enabled by the unique design of these two instruments. MIXS in particular is of a completely new design which is based on novel ‘micro-pore X-ray optics’ that have enabled miniaturisation of X-ray instrumentation for planetary science. We explore the design and workings of the instruments, with a focus on the MIXS optics, detector, electronics, and the SIXS design. In later sections, we summarise the calibration, data analysis routines, and numerical models needed to ensure maximum science return from MIXS and provide a summary of the science objectives at Mercury which justify the instrument design. Finally, we look ahead to future opportunities that have arisen from the new technologies that have been developed for MIXS, showing there is a bright future for X-ray instrumentation in planetary and solar system science.