MERTIS (MErcury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer), scheduled for launch on board the Bepi Colombo Mercury Orbiter, will be the first mid-infrared imaging spectrometer to explore the innermost planet of the Solar System from orbit. The instrument is an advanced IR technology designed to study the surface composition, and surface temperature variations of planet Mercury. High resolution and global mid-IR spectral and temperature data obtained by MERTIS will contribute to a better understanding of Mercury's genesis and evolution. MERTIS uses an uncooled microbolometer detector array. It combines a push-broom IR grating spectrometer (TIS) with a radiometer (TIR) sharing the same optics, instrument electronics, and in-fight calibration components for a wavelength range of 7-14 and 7-40 μm, respectively. The paper summarizes the scientific objectives, observational goals, comparative laboratory spectral studies of mineral analogues, and introduces the technical overview and actual instrument development status of the experiment.

Date Published: 16 September 2011
PDF: 13 pages
Proc. SPIE 8154, Infrared Remote Sensing and Instrumentation XIX, 81540X (16 September 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.892894

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8154:
Infrared Remote Sensing and Instrumentation XIX
Marija Strojnik; Gonzalo Paez, Editor(s)