Clip Exhibits Exceptionally Close Approach of Mercury in Thrilling Fashion
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s joint mission, BepiColombo, recently completed its sixth flyby of Mercury on January 8, 2025. This marked the final planned Mercury gravity assist before the spacecraft's planned orbit insertion in late 2026.
During this flyby, BepiColombo had its first clear view of Mercury's south pole. The planet's cratered surface was illuminated by the Sun as the spacecraft drew nearer, providing detailed views of the solar system's smallest planet. These images, captured by BepiColombo's three onboard monitoring cameras, revealed Mercury's mysterious craters, adding to our understanding of this least explored rocky planet of the solar system.
Launched in October 2018, BepiColombo is only the third spacecraft to visit Mercury. The mission is designed to explore Mercury's surface, interior, and magnetic field. To reach Mercury, the spacecraft has to perform nine gravity assist maneuvers in total: one around Earth, two around Venus, and six around Mercury.
The European Space Agency (ESA) recently released a 90-second video of BepiColombo's flyby of Mercury. The video, made up of 128 images, stitched together to create a timelapse, offers a captivating glimpse of the spacecraft's recent rendezvous. BepiColombo approached Mercury from the planet's nightside, providing a unique perspective of the cratered surface.
An interesting fact that emerged from this flyby is that Mercury has a solid inner core that is approximately the same size as Earth's. This information, along with the detailed images captured, will contribute significantly to our understanding of Mercury's environment and characteristics.
After this last flyby, the spacecraft is approaching speed parity with Mercury's orbital velocity around the Sun. When BepiColombo and Mercury meet again in November 2026, their relative speed will be low enough for the spacecraft’s two orbiters—the ESA Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the JAXA Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio)—to be captured into orbit, facilitated by Mercury’s gravity. At that time, BepiColombo will separate its stacked configuration to allow both orbiters to commence their detailed exploration of Mercury’s surface, magnetosphere, and exosphere.
The critical remaining major event for BepiColombo is the orbit insertion planned for late 2026. After this, the mission will start its comprehensive orbital science phase to study Mercury’s environment and characteristics in detail.
A crater on Mercury, measuring around 96 miles across (155 kilometers), was named Stoddart by the International Astronomical Union in honor of Margaret Olrog Stoddart, an artist from New Zealand known for her flower paintings. This addition to Mercury's geographical features is a testament to the mission's commitment to honouring significant individuals.
As we eagerly await the orbit insertion, the BepiColombo mission continues to push the boundaries of our understanding of Mercury, providing valuable insights into this intriguing planet.
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