KPL/IK BERM Instrument Kernel ============================================================================= This instrument kernel (I-kernel) contains references to mounting alignment, operating modes, and timing as well as internal and FOV geometry for the BepiColombo Radiation Monitor (BERM). Version and Date ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 0.0 -- July 16, 2025 -- Ricardo Valles Blanco, ESAC/ESA Initial draft. References ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. ``Kernel Pool Required Reading'', NAIF. 2. ``Frames Required Reading'', NAIF. 3. ``MGNS EID, Part B'', BC-EST-RS-02516 , November 14, 2017 4. BepiColombo Frames Definition Kernel (FK), latest version. 5. BERM ICD Mechanical ``BC-EFA-IF-00001_01to05_04_BERM.pdf'', 22st March 2013. 6. ``Flight data analysis of the BERM radiation monitor aboard the BepiColombo mission to Mercury'', Carlota Patricia Donga Cardoso, Tecnico Lisboa, May 2022. Contact Information ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have any questions regarding this file contact SPICE support at ESAC: Alfredo Escalante Lopez (+34) 91-8131-429 spice@sciops.esa.int or NAIF at JPL: Boris Semenov +1 (818) 354-8136 Boris.Semenov@jpl.nasa.gov Implementation Notes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This file is used by the SPICE system as follows: programs that make use of this frame kernel must "load" the kernel normally during program initialization. Loading the kernel associates the data items with their names in a data structure called the "kernel pool". The SPICELIB routine FURNSH loads a kernel into the pool as shown below: FORTRAN: (SPICELIB) CALL FURNSH ( frame_kernel_name ) C: (CSPICE) furnsh_c ( frame_kernel_name ); IDL: (ICY) cspice_furnsh, frame_kernel_name MATLAB: (MICE) cspice_furnsh ( 'frame_kernel_name' ) PYTHON: (SPICEYPY)* furnsh( frame_kernel_name ) In order for a program or routine to extract data from the pool, the SPICELIB routines GDPOOL, GIPOOL, and GCPOOL are used. See [1] for more details. This file was created and may be updated with a text editor or word processor. * SPICEYPY is a non-official, community developed Python wrapper for the NAIF SPICE toolkit. Its development is managed on Github. It is available at: https://github.com/AndrewAnnex/SpiceyPy Naming Conventions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- All names referencing values in this I-kernel start with the characters 'INS' followed by the NAIF BepiColombo MPO spacecraft ID number (-121) and then followed by a NAIF three digit code for the BERM detector (896) The remainder of the name is an underscore character followed by the unique name of the data item. For example, the BERM boresight direction in the MPO_BERM frame (see [2]) is specified by: INS-121896_BORESIGHT The upper bound on the length of the name of any data item identifier is 32 characters. If the same item is included in more than one file, or if the same item appears more than once within a single file, the latest value supersedes any earlier values. Description ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From [5, 6]: The MPO-BERM radiation monitor is part of the instrument payload of the MPO, that comprises cameras, spectrometers, radiometers, particle analysers, among others. While the 11 instruments that constitute MPO's scientific instrument suite will only be turned on during certain strategic occasions, BERM will be in operation throughout all phases of the mission and is responsible for monitoring the radiation environment. While at Mercury, and despite being a radiation monitor, BERM join coordinated observations with other instruments, with the scientific goals of studying certain phenomena, such as: - Induction effect after major solar event; - Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) propagation inside Mercury's magnetosphere; - SEP propagation towards Mercury's surface; - Exosphere vs. plasma precipitation; - Exosphere during FTE vs. external conditions; Since BERM operates continuously during the cruise phase, other scientific opportunities will be sought during the cruise phase. BERM is mounted behind the radiator panel of MPO (-Y axis). During the interplanetary cruise phase, apart from small variations, the +Y axis of the spacecraft will be directed towards the Sun. This will provide the opportunity to study interplanetary physics under different conditions of solar activity. The active instrument operations and BERM, in particular, will participate in solar observations, with special regard to the study of transient events such as Solar Energetic Particles, and also in the monitoring of the local radiation background due to bombardment by energetic particles of Galactic Cosmic Rays. The BepiColombo Radiation Monitor (BERM), weights 2.2kg and has a volume of 174.8L x 120.0W x 106.0H mm3. The spectrometer is composed of a single stack of 11 solid state detectors (Silicon). The detectors have increasingly larger areas from the top detector (0.5 mm3) to the bottom detector (900m3). All detectors are 300 um thick with the exception of the top one which is 200 um thick. The detectors are interleaved by layers of absorbing material (aluminium or tantalum) with increasing thickness (0.5 to 1.5 mm). This configuration defines a Field of View (FOV) of 40 degrees (43.41 full cone) and was designed in order to establish the energy cut-offs below: - Electron Energy Range: 0.1 - 10 MeV - Proton Energy Range: 1.0 - 200 Mev - Heavy Ions: 1.0 - 50 MeVmg-1cm-2 This stack of detectors is surrounded by tantalum shielding with the objective of stopping particles that come from the side or the bottom of the stack. There a collimator, which consists of a complex structure of tantalum, with a 0.5mm2 aperture that allows BERM to operate in high particles fluxes and a 25 um thick Beryllium window on top of the stack to cut off electrons and protons withe energies lower than 1 MeV. Mounting Alignment ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Refer to the latest version of the BepiColombo Frames Definition Kernel (FK) [2] for the BERM reference frame definitions and mounting alignment information. FOV Definitions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section contains the definitions for the field of views (FOVs) for the BERM sensor. These definitions are provided in a format required by the SPICE (CSPICE) function GETFOV (getfov_c). Please note that the FOVs reference angles are defined with half angle values. The following FOV definitions corresponds to the NAIF Body Names: MPO_BERM and MPO_BERM_PLAN. The MPO_BERM FOV is reflecting the information as provided in [5], so 43.41 degrees (full cone). The MPO_BERM_PLAN FOV is calculated between the first sensor which triggers the detectors and the main elements of the collimator. This results in 34.17 degrees (full cone), this is the suggested value for science planning. \begindata INS-121896_NAME = 'MPO_BERM' INS-121896_BORESIGHT = ( 0.000, 0.000, 1.000 ) INS-121896_FOV_FRAME = 'MPO_BERM' INS-121896_FOV_SHAPE = 'CIRCLE' INS-121896_FOV_CLASS_SPEC = 'ANGLES' INS-121896_FOV_REF_VECTOR = ( 1.000, 0.000, 0.000 ) INS-121896_FOV_REF_ANGLE = ( 21.705 ) INS-121896_FOV_ANGLE_UNITS = 'DEGREES' INS-121897_NAME = 'MPO_BERM_PLAN' INS-121897_BORESIGHT = ( 0.000, 0.000, 1.000 ) INS-121897_FOV_FRAME = 'MPO_BERM' INS-121897_FOV_SHAPE = 'CIRCLE' INS-121897_FOV_CLASS_SPEC = 'ANGLES' INS-121897_FOV_REF_VECTOR = ( 1.000, 0.000, 0.000 ) INS-121897_FOV_REF_ANGLE = ( 17.085 ) INS-121897_FOV_ANGLE_UNITS = 'DEGREES' \begintext End of IK file.