Estimation of surface temperatures on Mercury in preparation of the MERTIS experiment onboard BepiColombo

The Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (MERTIS) is part of the payload on the joint ESA-JAXA BepiColombo Mission, launched in October 2018. The spectrometer is designed to map surface composition, identify rock-forming minerals, map surface mineralogy, and study surface temperature variations. The surface of Mercury undergoes large temperature variations depending on solar irradiation. Mineral spectra show significant changes in spectral features with changing temperature. In preparation of the experiment, we developed a thermal model that calculates surface temperatures based on appropriate insolation conditions and thermo-physical properties. This model has been validated with lunar parameters and hence been applied to the conditions of Mercury. Here we present surface temperature maps based on MESSENGER albedo and topography data. The results have been compared to previous models and measurements of Mercury's surface temperatures.