BepiColombo MPO SSMM and Data Downlink Modelling for Science Operations Analysis

BepiColombo is an interdisciplinary mission to Mercury scheduled for launch in 2015, arriving at Mercury in 2021. It is a joint mission between ESA and JAXA consisting of 2 complementary spacecraft, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). Some of the instruments on the MPO either rely on certain solar events or are interested in variations of the magnetic or plasma environment around Mercury, which cannot be predicted or planned for. Traditionally, these instruments would measure continuously, downlink all their data back to Earth and the Scientists would identify the interesting periods. The Selective Data Downlink approach would allow experiments to have the possibility to detect these variations in a way that only interesting data will be selected for downlink. This approach would make far better use of the limited available data downlink volume, returning only high-resolution science data for the interesting periods. To achieve this, the instruments would have to generate simultaneously low-resolution and high-resolution data of the same observation that will be stored in the on-board SSMM (Solid State Mass Memory). This high-resolution science data will be stored in a dedicated instrument packet store that will not be automatically returned to the Earth. Low-resolution science data, which will include selective downlink support data from the observation, used for quick-look data analysis on ground, will be downlinked, typically via the X-band, arriving at Earth nominally 1 or 2 days after its generation. If the low-resolution science data, data from other MPO instruments, or even MMO data indicate an interesting feature, a selection of the high-resolution data stored on-board can be copied to a separate packet store for subsequent downlink via Ka-band. This concept would guarantee that only scientifically useful data will be downlinked.

The ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission is currently en route to Mercury since October 2018. It consists of the ESA Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the JAXA Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) spacecraft which, along with the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), are stacked all together during the seven years’ cruise phase. This long cruise phase is interspersed by nine planetary flybys used to reach Mercury’s orbit capture. In this configuration, most of the MPO instruments located on the nadir side are obstructed by the MTM and cannot observe. Nevertheless, a subset of “side-looking” instruments can be operated in the stacked-spacecraft configuration during the cruise and gather scientific data. These instruments, mostly dedicated to the study of the Hermean environment (magnetic field, solar wind, exosphere), are operated during the planetary flybys as well as for several cruise science observations. Such events are used to test the BepiColombo Science Ground Segment (SGS) operating systems and processes. The SGS develops the Quick-Look Analysis (QLA) tool that will support the rapid analysis of the instruments’ operational and scientific data acquired during the mission science phase observations, starting in 2026. At present, the tool is used to support cruise and flybys operations, in addition to fostering science collaborations between the BepiColombo instrument teams through its data sharing capabilities. We will present the current status and functionalities.

<p>Mercury is a mysterious planet in many ways very different from what scientist were expecting. BepiColombo was launched on 20 October 2018 the BepiColombo from the European spaceport in French Guyana and is now on route to Mercury to unveil Mercury’s secrets. BepiColombo with its state of the art and very comprehensive payload will perform measurements to increase our knowledge on the fundamental questions about Mercury’s evolution, composition, interior, magnetosphere, and exosphere. BepiColombo is a joint project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and consists of two orbiters, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio). </p><p>The BepiColombo spacecraft is during its 7-year long journey to the innermost terrestrial planet in a so-called ‘stacked’ configuration: The Mio and the MPO are connected to each other, and stacked on-top of the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM). Only in late 2025, the ‘stack’ configuration is abandoned and the individual elements spacecraft are brought in to their final Mercury orbit: 480x1500km for MPO, and 590x11640km for Mio. The foreseen orbits of the MPO and Mio will allow close encounters of the two spacecraft throughout the mission. The mission has been named in honor of Giuseppe (Bepi) Colombo (1920–1984), who was a brilliant Italian mathematician, who made many significant contributions to planetary research and celestial mechanics.</p><p>On its way BepiColombo has several opportunities for scientific observations - during the cruise into the inner solar system and during nine flybys (one at Earth, two at Venus and six at Mercury). However, since the spacecraft is in a stacked configuration during the flybys only some of the   instruments on both spacecraft will perform scientific observations. In early April of 2020 BepiColombo will flyby Earth and later in October the first Venus flyby will follow.</p><p>A status of the mission and instruments and first results of measurements taken during the Earth flyby and the first year in cruise will be given.</p>

<p>BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The BepiColombo mission consists of two spacecraft, which are the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio). The mission made its first planetary flyby, which is the only Earth flyby, on 10 April 2020, during which several instruments collected measurements. In this study, we analyze MPO magnetometer (MAG) observations of Flux Transfer Events (FTEs) in the magnetosheath and the structure of the subsolar magnetopause near the  flow stagnation point. The magnetosheath plasma beta was high with a value of ~ 8 and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was southward with a clock angle that decreased from ~ 100 degrees to ~ 150 degrees.  As the draped IMF became increasingly southward several of the flux transfer event (FTE)-type flux ropes were observed. These FTEs traveled southward indicating that the magnetopause X-line was located northward of the spacecraft, which is consistent with a dawnward tilt of the IMF. Most of the FTE-type flux ropes were in ion-scale, <10 s duration, suggesting that they were newly formed. Only one large-scale FTE-type flux rope, ~ 20 s, was observed. It was made up of two successive bipolar signatures in the normal magnetic field component, which is evidence of coalescence at a secondary reconnection site. Further analysis demonstrated that the dimensionless reconnection rate of the re-reconnection associated with the coalescence site was ~ 0.14. While this investigation was limited to the MPO MAG observations, it strongly supports a key feature of dayside reconnection discovered in the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, the growth of FTE-type flux ropes through coalescence at secondary reconnection sites.</p>

Launched on 20 October 2018 from the European spaceport Kourou in French Guyana and after finishing most of its about eight year-long cruise-phase, BepiColombo has successfully performed nine flybys (at Earth, twice at Venus and six at Mercury). On arrival in orbit around Mercury in late 2026 it will perform measurements to increase our knowledge on the fundamental questions about Mercury’s evolution, composition, interior, magnetosphere, and exosphere with its state of the art and very comprehensive payload. BepiColombo consists of two orbiters, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio) and is a joint project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).Since the two spacecraft are in a stacked configuration during the cruise only some of the instruments are able to perform scientific observations. The BepiColombo Camera instrument suite, SIMBIO-SYS, on MPO is blocked and cannot be operated during cruise. However, a set of monitoring cameras (Mcam) located on the BepiColombo Transfer-Module (MTM) could be used to image the flyby targets. These images although of low quality and only black and white could be successfully used for outreach activities.A summary of these activities and some conclusions for future missions will be given.

<p>Recently ESA and JAXXA launched the two-spacecraft mission BepiColombo to explore the plasma and magnetic field environment of Mercury. Both spacecraft, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO, also referred to as Mio), are equipped with fluxgate magnetometers, to provide in-situ data for the characterization of the internal magnetic field origin as well as its dynamic interaction with the solar wind. To achieve this goal, accurate magnetic field measurements are thus of crucial importance, which require proper in-flight calibration. In particular the magnetometer offset, which relates relative fluxgate readings into an absolute value, needs to be determined with high accuracy. Usually, the magnetometer offsets are evaluated from Alfvénic fluctuations observed in the pristine solar wind. However, while Mio's orbit will indeed partially reside in the solar wind, MPO will remain within the magnetosphere at most times during the main mission phase. Therefore, we examine an alternative offset determination method, based on the observation of highly compressional fluctuations, the so-called Mirror Mode Method. To evaluate the method performance in the Hermean environment, we analyze four years of MESSENGER magnetometer data, which are calibrated by the Alfvénic fluctuation method, and compare it with the accuracy and error of the offsets determined by the Mirror Mode Method in different plasma environments around Mercury. We show that the Mirror Mode Method yields the same offset estimates and thereby confirms its applicability. Furthermore, we also evaluate the spacecraft observation time within different regions necessary to obtain reliable offset estimates. Although the lowest percentage of strong compressional fluctuations are observed in the solar wind, this region is most suitable for an accurate offset determination with the Mirror Mode Method. 132 hours of solar wind data are sufficient to determine the offset to within 0.5nT, while thousands of hours are necessary to reach this accuracy in the magnetosheath or within the magnetosphere. We conclude that in the solar wind the Mirror Mode Method might be a good complementary approach to the Alfvénic fluctuation method to determine the (spin-axis) offset of the Mio magnetometer. However, although the Mirror Mode Method requires considerably more data within the magnetosphere, it might also be for the MPO magnetometer one of the most valuable tools to determine the offsets accurately.</p>

The ESA-JAXA joint mission BepiColombo is still on the track to Mercury. The two spacecraft for BepiColombo, Mio (Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter: MMO) and Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), are combined with MMO Sun Shield (MOSIF) and Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) during the cruise phase. BepiColombo will arrive at Mercury in November 2026, and it has 8-years cruise with the heliocentric distance range of 0.3-1.2 AU. The long cruise phase also includes 9 planetary flybys: once at the Earth, twice at Venus, and 6 times at Mercury. On 8 January 2025 we completed the last (6th) Mercury flyby successfully. Even before arrival, we already obtained fruitful science data from Mercury during the Mercury flybys. We performed science observations with almost all the instruments onboard Mio and successfully obtained comprehensive data of Mercury’s magnetosphere such as magnetic fields, plasma particles, and waves. Here we present the overview and initial results of the science observations during the Mercury flybys.

<p>The ESA-JAXA joint mission BepiColombo is now on the track to Mercury. Two spacecraft for BepiColombo, "Mio" (Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter: MMO) and "Bepi" (Mercury Planetary Orbiter: MPO), were successfully launched by Ariane-5 launch vehicle from Kourou in French Guiana on 20 October 2018. Mio is fully dedicated to investigating Mercury’s environment with a complete package of plasma instruments (particles, electric fields, and magnetic fields), a spectral imager of sodium exosphere, and a dust monitor. During the cruise to Mercury, in addition to two spacecraft MMO Sunshield and Interface Structure (MOSIF) and Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) are all integrated together. After the commissioning operations of spacecraft, we are focusing on preparing science operations for interplanetary cruise and planetary flybys. Some science instruments can be used even in the composite spacecraft configuration. The first and second flybys will happen at the Earth in April 2019 and at Venus in October 2019, respectively. In addition, during the interplanetary cruise BepiColombo can contribute to inner heliospheric science by measuring the solar wind and solar energetic particles. Thanks to NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and ESA’s Solar Orbiter, multi-spacecraft observations of the inner heliosphere will soon be possible and provide us deeper knowledge of this region. Here we report the updated status of BepiColombo mission, initial results of the commissioning operations, and the future plans for interplanetary cruise and planetary flybys.</p>

The fluxgate magnetometer of the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter

Solar Intensity X-ray and particle Spectrometer (SIXS)

BepiColombo is an interdisciplinary mission to the planet Mercury which will provide the detailed information necessary to understand Mercury and its magnetospheric environment. The mission is envisaged to consist of three spacecrafts, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) and the Mercury Surface Element (MSE). The mission went through a re-assessment with the aim of optimizing resources and and advancing the scientific return. Various mission scenarios were investigated and new pay load concepts were adopted. The newly defined mission will be presented focusing on the launch scenario and the MPO reference payload.

BepiColombo is the fifth cornerstone mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) dedicated to study the Mercury planet. The BepiColombo spacecraft comprises two science modules: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) realized by ESA and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The MPO is composed by 11 instruments, including the ‘Spectrometer and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory System’ (SIMBIOSYS). The SIMBIOSYS suite includes three optical channels: a Stereoscopic Imaging Channel, a High Resolution Imaging Channel, and a Visible and near Infrared Hyperspectral Imager. SIMBIOSYS will characterize the hermean surface in terms of surface morphology, volcanism, global tectonics, and chemical composition. The aim of this work is to describe a tool for the radiometric response prediction of the three SIMBIOSYS channels. Given the spectral properties of the surface, the instrument characteristics, and the geometrical conditions of the observation, the realized SIMBIOSYS simulator is capable of estimating the expected signal and integration times for the entire mission lifetime. In the simulator the spectral radiance entering the instrument optical apertures has been modelled using a Hapke reflectance model implementing the parameters expected for the hermean surface. The instrument performances are simulated by means of calibrated optical and detectors responses. The simulator employs the SPICE (Spacecraft, Planet, Instrument, C-matrix, Environment) toolkit software, which allows us to know for each epoch the exact position of the MPO with respect to the planet surface and the Sun.

The four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft will collect a combined volume of approximately 100 gigabits per day of particle and field data. On average, only 4 gigabits of that volume can be transmitted to the ground. To maximize the scientific value of each transmitted data segment, MMS has developed the Science Operations Center (SOC) to manage science operations, instrument operations, and selection, downlink, distribution, and archiving of MMS science data sets. The SOC is managed by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) in Boulder, Colorado and serves as the primary point of contact for community participation in the mission. MMS instrument teams conduct their operations through the SOC, and utilize the SOC's Science Data Center (SOC) for data management and distribution. The SOC provides a single mission data archive for the housekeeping and science data, calibration data, ephemerides, attitude and other ancillary data needed to support the scientific use and interpretation. All levels of data products will reside at and be publicly disseminated from the SDC. Documentation and metadata describing data products, algorithms, instrument calibrations, validation, and data quality will be provided. Arguably, the most important innovation developed by the SOC is the MMS burst data management and selection system. With nested automation and 'Scientist-in-the-Loop' (SITL) processes, these systems are designed to maximize the value of the burst data by prioritizing the data segments selected for transmission to the ground. This paper describes the MMS science operations approach, processes and data systems, including the burst system and the SITL concept.

The processing of data obtained by the XMM–Newton observatory of the European Space Agency (ESA) is done using the SAS (Software Analysis System) tools provided by the ESA XMM Science Operations Centre (SOC). In order to be operative, these tools must be downloaded from the official SOC web pages and then installed (eventually upgraded) and run locally in the computer used by the data analyser. This process can be in some cases cumbersome for some users and local resources. In this presentation, we summarise the initiative developed from the SOC at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in collaboration with the Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA CSIC-UC), to run these tools in a GRID environment, and thus taking advantage of the resources distribution and the possibility of remote use of the analysis tools.

The European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) is currently carrying out an ambitious program to standardize the infrastructure used throughout its ground segments in an effort to improve the reliability, cost effectiveness and interoperability. The end product of this program will be the ESA Ground Operation System (EGOS). This paper summarizes the program rational, its goals, the architecture, development approach and current status. I. Introduction A. Overview SOC is responsible for the provision of ground segments for the operation and control of many ESA missions. The scope of the ground segment encompasses the elements required on ground to provide the requisite monitoring and control capabilities. This ranges from the groundstations, through the mission control and flight dynamics functionality, to the archiving and distribution of data to the science community and, in some cases, the initial processing of science data. The provision of simulators for training and operations validation purposes is also covered. Many of the systems that are used in the ground segment have been developed in the past using a variety of different technologies and policies, quite often as standalone projects which did not take into account other developments. EGOS is therefore intended to provide a more standardised infrastructure, which encourages systematic reuse and thus reduce development and maintenance costs. The approach adopted is to use well established S/W engineering principles, build on existing systems and experience, use international standards where available and avoid proprietary systems/standards where possible. Initially EGOS is concentrating on the areas of mission control systems, simulators and some of the ground station equipment, in particular the base-band systems and ground station monitoring and control. In the longer term it is envisaged that the scope will be extended to cover satellite electrical ground support equipment (EGSE), flight dynamics and mission planning systems. EGOS must also permit easy expandability, as it is not possible to forecast with certainty future system requirements. The approach adopted in the architecture is one of a service oriented system based on component application development. The service and component architectures represent two views of the system and are therefore not mutually exclusive, but complementary. Within the overall architecture categories of components have been identified. The first of these are the Core components, these provide the essential services and functionality on which the other components are built. Next come the Common components, these provide widely used services such as file archiving, user management etc. The Core and Common components can effectively be thought of as middleware for the ground data systems. The third category, Custom components, consists of the applications that implement the end user needs. These map roughly onto subsystems, e.g. telemetry chain, telecommanding chain, onboard software maintenance system etc. Encapsulating the overall EGOS architecture is the Service Management Framework (SMF). This provides the mechanism through which the underlying systems expose services to external users and systems in a well defined and controlled manner. To avoid unnecessary dependencies between a set of rules has been prepared specifying whether the different categories of components may utilise the services provided by other components categories. * Head of the Ground Station Backend Section, OPS-GIB † Senior Software Engineer, Data System Infrastructure Division, OPS-GI ‡ Head of the Product Maintenance & Support Section, OPS-GIM § Head of the Operation Centre System Infrastructure Section, OPS-GIC ** Head of the Data System Infrastructure Division, OPS-GI