Description
The space radiation environment poses significant challenges to space missions, affecting spacecraft reliability and instrument performance, particularly in the harsh conditions of the inner Solar System. The BepiColombo mission to Mercury provides a unique opportunity to characterise this environment over a wide range of heliocentric distances and solar activity conditions. This report presents preparatory work developed in the context of a Master’s thesis, focusing on the characterisation of the radiation environment using data from the BepiColombo Environment Radiation Monitor (BERM). An overview of the main components of the radiation environment in the inner Solar System is presented, including solar wind, solar energetic particles, galactic cosmic rays and trapped radiation. The BepiColombo mission and the BERM instrument are described, with emphasis on its detection principles and technical characteristics. Particular attention is given to the RADFET dosimeter integrated in BERM, which enables the measurement of the Total Ionising Dose (TID). A temperature-dependent conversion function is applied to RADFET threshold voltage measurements to estimate the accumulated TID throughout the mission. Preliminary results are presented for the period between February 2019 and November 2025, covering multiple planetary flybys and a transition from solar minimum to solar maximum conditions. This work establishes the basis for future, more detailed analyses of radiation effects on spacecraft systems and contributes to improving radiation assessment and mitigation strategies for future space missions.
| Field of Research/Work | Nuclear Physics |
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