Validation of the stereo observation strategy of SIMBIO-SYS using a virtual simulator

The Spectrometer and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS) is a suite of three independent optical heads that will provide images and spectroscopic observations of the Mercury surface. With the approaching of BepiColombo to Mercury, the definition of the observation strategies of each instrument is becoming mandatory also for testing the operation procedures in terms of feasibility and stereo performance. The use of synthetic images and a customized simulator have been considered a powerful way to accomplish this test. Images are rendered by raytracing, which implements the physical principles of geometrical light propagation. Images are rendered in physical units using a macroscopic instrument model and scene objects reflectance functions. This simulation system allows to investigate all the possible stereo configurations (different stereo angles and different image combinations) with the opportunity to evaluate the operational feasibility thanks to the evaluation of the final stereo products. Working with a simulated dataset allows to control most of the geometrical aspects (both the projection model definition and the observation geometry) suggesting with the analysis of the stereo products the better configuration to be applied and to be considered in the definition of the observation strategy.