Preliminary optical design of the stereo channel of the imaging system SIMBIOSYS for the BepiColombo ESA mission

The paper describes the optical design and performance budget of a novel catadioptric instrument chosen as baseline for the Stereo Channel (STC) of the imaging system SIMBIOSYS for the BepiColombo ESA mission to Mercury. The main scientific objective is the 3D global mapping of the entire surface of Mercury with a scale factor of 50 m per pixel at periherm in four different spectral bands. The system consists of two twin cameras looking at ±20° from nadir and sharing some components, such as the relay element in front of the detector and the detector itself. The field of view of each channel is 4° x 4° with a scale factor of 23’’/pixel. The system guarantees good optical performance with Ensquared Energy of the order of 80% in one pixel. For the straylight suppression, an intermediate field stop is foreseen, which gives the possibility to design an efficient baffling system.