HR: 0800h
AN: G51A-0807 [Abstracts]
TI: The BepiColombo Laser Altimeter BELA: Instrument Description
AU: * Seiferlin, K
EM: karsten.seiferlin@hispeed.ch
AF: Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, Bern, 3012
Switzerland
AU: Thomas, N
EM: nicolas.thomas@phim.unibe.ch
AF: Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, Bern, 3012
Switzerland
AU: Spohn, T
EM: tilman.spohn@dlr.de
AF: DLR, Institut fuer Planetenforschung, Rutherfordstr. 2, Berlin, 12489
Germany
AU: Oberst, J
EM: juergen.oberst@dlr.de
AF: DLR, Institut fuer Planetenforschung, Rutherfordstr. 2, Berlin, 12489
Germany
AU: Michaelis, H
EM: harald.michaelis@dlr.de
AF: DLR, Institut fuer Planetenforschung, Rutherfordstr. 2, Berlin, 12489
Germany
AU: Gunderson, K
EM: kurt.gunderson@phim.unibe.ch
AF: Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, Bern, 3012
Switzerland
AU: Whitby, J A
EM: james.whitby@phim.unibe.ch
AF: Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, Bern, 3012
Switzerland
AB:
The BepiColombo Laser Altimeter (BELA) is among the instruments that have been
selected for flight aboard the MPO of ESA's BepiColombo mission to Mercury. A
consortium led by Physikalisches Institut Universitaet Bern, Switzerland) and Institut
fr Planetenforschung (DLR, Berlin, Germany) will develop the first European laser
altimeter for planetary exploration. The instrument follows the classical principle of
direct detection of the returned laser light using a 200 mm telescope. The receiver telescope is made of electroformed nickel
in order to save mass. The transmitter is based
on a longitudinally pumped ND:YAG laser with 50 mJ pulses and about 5 ns pulse
duration, operating at 10 Hz. The range finding and pulse detection uses digital filtering of return pulse shapes. Operation
is possible on the dayside as well as on the night side of Mercury, but limited to about 1200 km altitude. We will present
the instrument concept as well as the set-up of new test, verification and calibration facilities that are
required for this type of instrument.
UR: http://www.phim.unibe.ch/pig/Bepicolombo_LaseRAltimeter.htm
DE: 1243 Space geodetic surveys
DE: 5417 Gravitational fields (1221)
DE: 5464 Remote sensing
DE: 5494 Instruments and techniques
DE: 6235 Mercury
SC: Geodesy [G]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005