National Space Centre Collections Online  >  L2016-12

MIXS Instrument

Whole Object Name

MIXS Instrument

Collection

Satellites and Spacecraft

Description

The Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (MIXS) instrument is due to arrive at Mercury in 2025 aboard the European Space Agency’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO). The MPO spacecraft, together with the Japanese Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), constitute the BepiColombo mission. This collaboration will be ESA’s first mission to Mercury, the least explored and most extreme of the terrestrial planets. The mission aims to improve our understanding of the planet’s composition, geophysics, atmosphere, magnetosphere and history.

The MIXS instrument is designed to determine the surface composition of the planet by means of fluorescent X-ray spectroscopy. It is a two component instrument. MIXS-T (the larger component) is an X-ray imaging telescope with a narrow field for detailed images of the surface. MIXS-C collects X-rays from a wider field of view, to get an overview of the planet.

MIXS has a companion instrument, the SIXS (Solar Intensity X-ray Spectrometer) being developed by the University of Helsinki, which will perform measurements of X-rays and particles of solar origin. The combination of these instruments will provide details on the elemental composition of the surface layer of Mercury. The instruments were named by the Finnish collaborators and the names have a hidden meaning: MIXS is Finnish for 'Why'? SIXS is Finnish for 'That's Why!'

Object number

2016-12
  • image MIXS Instrument - Credit: University of Leicester, Space Research Centre/ National Space Centre
  • image MIXS Instrument - Credit: University of Leicester, Space Research Centre/ National Space Centre
  • image MIXS Instrument - Credit: University of Leicester, Space Research Centre/ National Space Centre
  • image MIXS Instrument - Credit: University of Leicester, Space Research Centre/ National Space Centre
  • image MIXS Instrument - Credit: University of Leicester, Space Research Centre/ National Space Centre
  • image MIXS Instrument - Credit: University of Leicester, Space Research Centre/ National Space Centre
  • image MIXS Instrument - Credit: University of Leicester, Space Research Centre/ National Space Centre
  • image MIXS Instrument - Credit: University of Leicester, Space Research Centre/ National Space Centre

Web resources

More information

  • Object number

    2016-12

  • Location

    Our Solar System Gallery

  • Curator's comments

    • MIXS is part of a long line of cutting edge space technology developed by the University of Leicester, Space Research Centre

  • Has this object been into space?

    No

  • Dimension - Dimension, Value, Measurement unit

    Length: 104cm
    Width: 45cm
    Height: 33cm

  • Object Production Date

    2015

  • Object Production Organisation

    University of Leicester

  • Object Production Place

    United Kingdom
    Leicester

  • Associated Organisation

    ESA

  • Credit line

    Flight-spare MIXS instrument on loan courtesy of the University of Leicester, Space Research Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy

  • Object Display Status

    On display

Comments

    We'd love to hear your thoughts and memories. If you know something we don't, why not let us know!
    AboutHelp the Museum Cookies

    Terms and Conditions

    Donations

    Cookies Policy

         
    Powered by MuseumIndex+ CollectionsOnline