MDM

Mercury Dust Monitor (MDM)

Measurement Principle

Mercury Dust Monitor (MDM), one of the scientific instruments onboard Mio, measures dust particles distributed near Mercury, in particular, the dust particles of impact ejecta driven by meteoroid bombardments on Mercury’s surface for the first time. It consists of the sensors consisting of four plates of piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate and electronic board. The sensor detects dust with the impact velocity from 0 km/s to 90 km/s depending on the various kinds of dust particles.

Members

Principal Investigator
Masanori Kobayashi (Chiba Institute of Technology, Japan)

Instrument Specifications

Sensor Piezoelectric ceramics
Material Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)
Supplier Honda electronics Co., Ltd.
Dimension 4 cm × 4 cm × 2 mm for individual, 4 plates used
Detection area 64 cm2 in total
Operational temperature −160 to 170 °C
Frame of the sensor 125 mm × 125 mm × 7 mm, CFRP
Field of view Azimuth: 360°, Elevation: ±90°, Angular resolution <180°, Location: On the side panel of the spacecraft
Mass MDM-S (sensor unit): 220 g (including fastener for spacecraft mounting)
MDM-E (electronics unit): 673 g (including fastener for spacecraft mounting)
Power consumption: 4.6 W (nominal)

Link