SIMBIO-SYS for Bepi Colombo: Key Enabling Technologies for Mercury exploration
Leonardo Tommasi ; Marco Baroni ; Donato Borrelli ; ...Enrico Flamini ; ...Francesco Longo ; ...Roberto Formaro ; et al.
Sep - 2017

Event Title : 68 th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) , Adelaide, Australia , 25 - 29 September 2017.
Published in: IAC Paper
Publisher: IAF
type: Conference Proceedings

Abstract
The SIMBIO-SYS instrument (Spectrometer and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory System), devoted to Mercury surface exploration on board the BepiColombo mission, has been developed by Leonardo (formerly Selex ES) under ASI funding and coordination and in collaboration with several Italian and French research Institutes and Universities. It has been delivered to ESA and integrated in the MPO spacecraft in April 2015. The launch ofBepiColombo is planned in 2018.SIMBIO-SYS is a suite of three optical channels for Mercury remote sensing which includes aHigh Resolution Imaging Channel (HRIC), a STereo imaging Channel (STC) and a Visual and Infrared Hyperspectral Imager (VIHI). The three channels are integrated on a single optical benchat S/C level: this solution optimizes the overall mass and allow the best co-alignment between the channels.To fulfil the scientific goals of the mission, in compliance with the limited resources available on the MPO and the harsh operative environment, several solutions and technologies have been implemented, namely:-A very compact design for HRIC-A wide spectral coverage wih a single channel instrument for VIHI-A single detector dual channel design for STC--A special coating (ITO) and baffle (Stavroudis design) for heat load rejection-Diamond turned mirrors in RSA905 Aluminum alloy-Spectral and radiometric in-flight calibration unit with no moving parts-Large use of composite materials for structural parts-Capabilities of stereo imagingIn addition, an instrument architecture with three dedicated Proximity Electronics (PE) and a common Main Electronics (ME) was designed, aimed at the best use of the available electrical resources thanks to the sharing of functions among the three channels.Each channel of the SIMBIO-SYS Flight Model (FM) has been successfully tested and characterised at Leonardo SpA premises in Campi Bisenzio (FI –Italy) by means of two dedicated Optical Ground Support Equipment (OGSE)which have been developed and manufactured for this purpose.Data obtained during on-ground optical calibration campaign demonstratesthe instrument suite performance and capability for the scientific purpose of the BepiColombo Mission.

keywords : SIMBIO-SYS, Space Technology, BepiColombo, spectrometer, stereo-camera, high-resolution camera