[P-PS11] Mercury Science and Exploration

Mon. May 25, 2026 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM 303 (International Conference Hall, Makuhari Messe)

Chairperson:Murakami Go(Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)

Mercury, the innermost planet in our Solar System, with its unique features, holds vital clues to understanding the evolution of terrestrial planets and the solar system. NASA's Mariner-10 and MESSENGER missions provided valuable insights but also left outstanding questions. These will soon to be addressed by the joint ESA-JAXA two spacecraft mission, BepiColombo, which is currently en route to Mercury and has already completed all flybys, and the two BepiColombo orbiters will arrive at Mercury in November 2026. This session welcomes contributions on all aspects of Mercury's environment, including its origin, formation, geology, surface composition, interior structure, exosphere, magnetosphere, gravity, and magnetic fi elds, as well as their coupling using various research methods such as modeling, laboratory experiments, and observations (ground-based, remote-sensing, and in-situ). We also encourage early analyses of BepiColombo flyby data and discussions regarding future missions to Mercury.

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3:30 PM - 3:55 PM

[PPS11-06] Modeling Na spectral line shapes in Mercury’s exosphere and its implications for BepiColombo/MSASI observations

*Yudai Suzuki^1,2, Carl A. Schmidt², Go Murakami¹, Takao M. Sato³, Kazuo Yoshioka⁴, Ichiro Yoshikawa⁴ (1. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 2. Boston University, 3. Hokkaido Information University, 4. The University of Tokyo)

3:55 PM - 4:10 PM

[PPS11-07] Development of a New Emission-Line Spectral Analysis Method to Constrain the Energy Distribution of Mercury’s Sodium Exosphere

*Ukyo Kitamura¹, Yudai Suzuki^2,3, Shun Katakami¹, Masato Okada¹, Kazuo Yoshioka^1,4 (1. Department of Complexity Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, 2. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3. Center for Space Physics, Boston University, 4. Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo)

4:10 PM - 4:25 PM

[PPS11-08] Seasonal Variations and Source Processes of Mercury's Sodium Atmosphere

*Kouki Masaki¹, Shingo Kameda¹, Akifumi Nakayama¹, Masato Kagitani² (1. Rikkyo University , 2. Tohoku University)

4:25 PM - 4:50 PM

[PPS11-09] First global map of Mercury's surface roughness implies previous underestimation of the planet's radial contraction

*Gaku Nishiyama^1,2, Adrien Broquet¹, Nicola Tosi¹, Frank Preusker¹, Alexander Stark¹, Hauke Hussmann¹, Ernst Hauber¹ (1. German Aerospace Center (DLR), 2. The University of Tokyo)

Discussion (4:50 PM - 5:00 PM)

Session information