ESA's BepiColombo prepares for the toughest phase of its Mercury journey
The BepiColombo spacecraft, launched in 2018, is entering a demanding arrival phase as its two probes will separate to orbit Mercury.
ESA’s BepiColombo probe, which left Earth in 2018, is now approaching the most complex part of its journey: the arrival at Mercury. The spacecraft covered over 10 billion km, using nine flybys to fine-tune its trajectory before the upcoming separation of its two components. At 1200 GMT on Thursday, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter will split from the transfer module and begin a low-altitude pass as close as 480 km above the planet, while the Japanese Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio) will adopt an elliptical orbit reaching up to 11,000 km.
Mission manager Santa Martinez and operations chief Ignacio Tanco stressed the difficulty of operating so close to the Sun and the need for flexibility in case of unexpected issues. The mission, costing 1.7 billion euros and carrying sixteen scientific instruments, follows earlier Mercury explorers Mariner 10 and MESSENGER, aiming to fill gaps in knowledge about the planet’s magnetic field, core and surface features.
Why it matters
BepiColombo will deliver the most detailed data yet on Mercury, enhancing our understanding of the innermost planet and solar system formation.
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