Extrasolar satellites are generally too small to be detected by nominal searches. By analogy to the most active body in the Solar System, Io, we describe how sodium (Na I) and potassium (K I) gas could be a signature of the geological activity venting from an otherwise hidden exo-Io. Analyzing ∼ a dozen close-in gas giants hosting robust alkaline detections, we show that an Io-sized satellite can be stable against orbital decay below a planetary tidal Q p 10 11 . This tidal energy is focused into the satellite driving a ∼ 10 5±2 higher mass loss rate than Io's supply to Jupiter's Na exosphere, based on simple atmospheric loss estimates. The remarkable consequence is that several exo-Io column densities are on average more than sufficient to provide the ∼ 10 10±1 Na cm −2 required by the equivalent width of exoplanet transmission spectra. Furthermore, the benchmark observations of both Jupiter's extended (∼ 1000 R J ) Na exosphere and Jupiter's atmosphere in transmission spectroscopy yield similar Na column densities that are purely exogenic in nature. As a proof of concept, we fit the "high-altitude" Na at WASP 49-b with an ionization-limited cloud similar to the observed Na profile about Io. Moving forward, we strongly encourage time-dependent ingress and egress monitoring along with spectroscopic searches for other volcanic volatiles.

We modeled the exospheric densities for sputtering and thermal desorption in detail for the time period of the first MESSENGER flyby of Mercury. From the exospheric densities we calculate ion production rates. These ions will be transported to the location of MESSENGER if they are produced on magnetic field lines connecting the cusp with the downwind side. From these ions we produce mass spectra that we compared with the Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer measurements performed during this flyby. We find good qualitative agreement between the modeled and the measured ion mass spectrum. We find that sputtering is a major process to contribute to the population of planetary ions in the magnetosphere because of the large scale height of the exospheric particles and the resulting long flight times. In addition, thermal desorption of Na contributes significant amounts to the magnetospheric ion population. From the volatile species we can identify He, OH, H 2 O, and Ne in the measured mass spectrum. However, for most of the volatile species the reported upper limits must be reduced by 2-3 orders of magnitude to be compatible to the measured ion spectrum.

The ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury will provide simultaneous measurements from two spacecraft, offering an unprecedented opportunity to investigate magnetospheric and exospheric particle dynamics at Mercury as well as their interactions with solar wind, solar radiation, and interplanetary dust. The particle instrument suite SERENA (Search for Exospheric Refilling and Emitted Natural Abundances) is flying in space on-board the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and is the only instrument for ion and neutral particle detection aboard the MPO. It comprises four independent sensors: ELENA for neutral particle flow detection, Strofio for neutral gas detection, PICAM for planetary ions observations, and MIPA, mostly for solar wind ion measurements. SERENA is managed by a System Control Unit located inside the ELENA box. In the present paper the scientific goals of this suite are described, and then the four units are detailed, as well as their major features and calibration results. Finally, the SERENA operational activities are shown during the orbital path around Mercury, with also some reference to the activities planned during the long cruise phase.

Abstract. The optical spectroscopy measurements of sodium in Mercury's exosphere near the subsolar point by MESSENGER Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (MASCS/UVVS) have been interpreted before with a model employing two exospheric components of different temperatures. Here we use an updated version of the Monte Carlo (MC) exosphere model developed by Wurz and Lammer (2003) to calculate the Na content of the exosphere for the observation conditions ab initio. In addition, we compare our results to the ones according to Chamberlain theory. Studying several release mechanisms, we find that close to the surface, thermal desorption dominates driven by a surface temperature of 594 K, whereas at higher altitudes micro-meteorite impact vaporization prevails with a characteristic energy of 0.34 eV. From the surface up to 500 km the MC model results agree with the Chamberlain model, and both agree well with the observations. At higher altitudes, the MC model using micro-meteorite impact vaporization explains the observation well. We find that the combination of thermal desorption and micro-meteorite impact vaporization reproduces the observation of the selected day quantitatively over the entire observed altitude range, with the calculations performed based on the prevailing environment and orbit parameters. These findings help in improving our understanding of the physical conditions at Mercury's exosphere as well as in better interpreting mass-spectrometry data obtained to date and in future missions such as BepiColombo.