Definition of scientific targets of interest for BepiColombo in the eastern Eminescu (H9) quadrangle

Data from NASA MESSENGER spacecraft highlighted that Mercury’s surface and composition are more varied than previously thought. Despite being the closest planet to the Sun, indeed, Mercury is rich in volatiles and its surface shows evidence of volatile-driven processes such as the formation of hollows and explosive volcanism. Even MESSENGER’s color-derived basemaps, moreover, highlight relevant color variations of the hermean surface possibly indicating age and compositional differences between adjacent materials.

The ongoing mapping for the eastern H9 Eminescu quadrangle (22.5°N-22.5°S, 108°E-144°E) [1] led to a thorough knowledge of the area that allowed the definition of scientific targets of interest to be investigated by the SIMBIO-SYS cameras [2] onboard the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission [3] coupled with other instruments such as MERTIS, BELA, MGNS and MIXS.

Proposed targets range from hollows to volcanic features, from craters and deformational structures and specific terrains and aim at shedding light on scientific questions concerning Mercury’s origin and evolution [4]. In particular, proposed targets aim to i) determine the abundance and distribution of key elements, minerals and rocks on the hermean crust, ii) characterize and correlate geomorphological features with compositional variations, iii) investigate the nature, evolution, composition and mechanisms of effusive and explosive events, iv) determine the formation and growth rates of hollows, the nature of processes related with volatile loss and their mineralogical and elemental composition of volatiles, v) determine the displacement and kinematics of tectonic deformations and the mechanisms responsible for their formation and vi) verify the occurrence of any detectable change in and around hollows and pyroclastic deposits since MESSENGER observations.

Acknowledgements: We acknowledge support from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) under ASI-INAF agreement 2017-47-H.0.

References: [1] El Yazidi et al., 2021, EPSC. [2] Cremonese et al., 2020, Sp. Sci. Rev. [3] Benkhoff et al., 2010, Plan. Sp. Sci. [4] Rothery et al., 2020, Sp. Sci. Rev.