The relativity experiment of MORE: global full-cycle simulation and results

Abstract

BepiColombo is a joint ESA/JAXA mission to Mercury with challenging objectives regarding geophysics, geodesy and fundamental physics. In particular, the Mercury Orbiter Radio science Experiment (MORE) intends, as one of its goals, to perform a test of General Relativity. This can be done by measuring and constraining the parametrized post-Newtonian (PPN) parameters to an accuracy significantly better than current one. In this work we perform a global numerical full-cycle simulation of the BepiColombo Radio Science Experiments (RSE) in a realistic scenario, focussing on the relativity experiment, solving simultaneously for all the parameters of interest for RSE in a global least squares fit within a constrained multiarc strategy. The results on the achievable accuracy for each PPN parameter will be presented and discussed, confirming the significant improvement to the actual knowledge of gravitation theory expected for the MORE relativity experiment. In particular, we will show that, including realistic systematic effects in the range observables, an accuracy of the order of 10(-6) can still be achieved in the Eddington parameter beta and in the parameter alpha(1), which accounts for preferred frame effects, while the only poorly determined parameter turns out to be zeta, which describes the temporal variations of the gravitational constant and the Sun mass.