Gravity, Geodesy and Fundamental Physics with BepiColombo's MORE Investigation
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
The Mercury Orbiter Radio Science Experiment (MORE) of the ESA mission
BepiColombo will provide an accurate estimation of Mercury's gravity
field and rotational state, improved tests of general relativity, and a
novel deep space navigation system. The key experimental setup entails a
highly stable, multi-frequency radio link in X and Ka band, enabling
two-way range rate measurements of 3 micron/s at nearly all solar
elongation angles. In addition, a high chip rate, pseudo-noise ranging
system has already been tested at 1-2 cm accuracy. The tracking data
will be used together with the measurements of the Italian Spring
Accelerometer to provide a pseudo drag free environment for the data
analysis. We summarize the existing literature published over the past
years and report on the overall configuration of the experiment, its
operations in cruise and at Mercury, and the expected scientific
results.
Details
Original language | English |
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Article number | 21 |
Journal | Space science reviews |
Volume | 217 |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2021 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 85100672209 |
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ORCID | /0000-0003-4682-7831/work/168206598 |
Keywords
Keywords
- Mercury, Radio science, Planetary geodesy, Relativistic gravity, Spacecraft tracking systems