ANN ARBOR—NASA’s MESSENGER vehicle will begin to orbit the planet Mercury on March 17, and continue to orbit the environmentally hostile planet every 12 hours for the duration of its mission.

An onboard device dubbed FIPS (Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer), designed and built at the University of Michigan will take atmospheric measurements.

“March 17 will be the culmination of decades of aspirations and dreams for the U-M FIPS team,” said team leader Thomas Zurbuchen, professor in the departments of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Science and Aerospace Engineering at the College of Engineering. “FIPS will be the first plasma instrument to explore the plasmas in Mercury’s space environment. “This will also be a celebration for the more than 60 students, scientists, engineers and staff who have collaborated on this project since its beginning in the late nineties.”

MESSENGER, or MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, was launched in the summer of 2004, with flybys of Venus in 2006, 2007 and three Mercury flybys between 2008 and 2009. On March 17 this year, MESSENGER will achieve orbital insertion above the planet closest to the Sun.Never before has the surface of Mercury been observed in so much detail. Of all the terrestrial planets in the solar system including the Earth, Venus, and Mars, Mercury is the most unusual and least explored among them. FIPS will analyze ions and solar winds contained in Mercury’s magnetosphere, the magnetic bubble which protects the surface of the planet, much like that which shields the Earth from solar radiation.

Michigan Engineering doctoral student Jim Raines is running the FIPS instrumentation and Bob Lundgren is the lead engineer.

“In today’s NASA, it is very unusual to fly an experiment without heritage, but the scientists knew there would be a significant gap in the mission science without FIPS, so they accepted the risk of developing a new instrument, and Michigan was charged with the task,” Lundgren said.

Raines said: “We have waited a long time—most more than 10 years—for this moment to come and we look forward with great excitement to the discoveries that MESSENGER will make. With FIPS in particular, we hope to learn a lot about the dynamic and at times violent space environment of Mercury, including the direct impact of the solar wind plasma on the surface and its interaction with Mercury’s thin atmosphere and magnetic field.” Zurbuchen is also associate dean for entrepreneurial programs at the U-M College of Engineering. Other members of the FIPS team are: Jim Raines, research computer specialist; and Robert Lundgren, senior engineer.

Michigan Engineering:The University of Michigan College of Engineering is ranked among the top engineering schools in the country. At $180 million annually, its engineering research budget is one of largest of any public university. Michigan Engineering is home to 11 academic departments, numerous research centers and expansive entrepreneurial programs. The College plays a leading role in the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute and hosts the world-class Lurie Nanofabrication Facility. Michigan Engineering’s premier scholarship, international scale and multidisciplinary scope combine to create The Michigan Difference. Find out more at http://www.engin.umich.edu/.

The University of Michigan is committed to catalyzing the transformation of our economy by supporting technology transfer, encouraging entrepreneurship, and linking faculty and businesses to spur innovative research. Visit www.innovate.umich.edu

Related Links:

• FIPS video
• NASA hosts a live chat 10 a.m. EDT Wednesday, March 16.
• Zurbuchen
• FIPS