Venus Unveiled: Carbon and Oxygen Caught Escaping Into Space
New findings from BepiColombo show escape of heavy ions from Venus, hinting at complex atmospheric dynamics. A fleeting visit of the European Space Agency (ESA)/Japan…
BepiColombo News
BepiColombo is a joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to study Mercury, the smallest and least explored terrestrial planet in our solar system. Launched on October 20, 2018, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana, this ambitious mission consists of two separate spacecraft: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) managed by ESA and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), now renamed Mio, managed by JAXA. The mission aims to gather detailed data on Mercury’s magnetic field, magnetosphere, interior structure, and surface. It will perform comprehensive geological and elemental analyses, which are crucial for understanding the planet’s history and formation. BepiColombo is expected to reach Mercury in 2025 after a complex series of gravity assists involving Earth, Venus, and multiple flybys of Mercury itself, designed to brake the spacecraft against the Sun’s immense gravitational pull. The insights gained from BepiColombo are anticipated to enhance our understanding not only of Mercury but also of the formation of the inner planets of the solar system, including Earth.
BepiColombo’s First Mercury Flyby Unmasks Electron Rain As Trigger for X-Ray Auroras
The joint European-Japanese mission, BepiColombo, has revealed how high-energy auroras on Mercury are formed. The research indicates that electrons, accelerated in Mercury’s magnetosphere and precipitating…
BepiColombo’s Space Odyssey: Third Mercury Flyby Reveals Geological Wonders
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has made its third of six gravity assist flybys at Mercury, snapping images of a newly named impact crater as well…
BepiColombo Spacecraft Makes Second Gravity Assist of Planet Mercury – Captures Spectacular Close-Ups
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has made its second gravity assist of planet Mercury, capturing new close-up images as it steers closer towards Mercury orbit in…
BepiColombo Spacecraft Lines Up for Second Planet Mercury Flyby
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission is gearing up for its second close flyby of Mercury on June 23, 2022. ESA’s spacecraft operation team is guiding BepiColombo…
Hear and Feel BepiColombo Spacecraft’s First Tastes of Mercury Science
The magnetic and particle environment around Mercury was sampled by BepiColombo for the first time during the mission’s close flyby of the planet at 199…
BepiColombo Captures Stunning Mercury Images During Close Gravity Assist Flyby
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has captured its first views of its destination planet Mercury as it swooped past in a close gravity assist flyby last…
Hello Mercury! BepiColombo Spacecraft Captures Image During Gravity Assist Maneuver
The joint European-Japanese BepiColombo mission captured this view of Mercury on October 1, 2021, as the spacecraft flew past the planet for a gravity assist…
Mercury Ahead! Spacecraft Will Swoop by the Planet in Exciting Gravity Assist Maneuver
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury will make the first of six flybys of its destination planet on October 1, 2021, before entering orbit in…
First Images and Videos From the Double Venus Flyby
Two spacecraft made historic flybys of Venus this month, and both sent back sci-fi-type views of the mysterious, cloud-shrouded planet. The Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo…
Experience the Sights and Sounds of an Extraordinary Venus Flyby
ESA’s Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo spacecraft made a historic Venus flyby earlier this week, passing by the planet within 33 hours of each other and…
Double Venus Flyby! Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo Set To Make Space History
Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo are set to make space history with two Venus flybys just 33 hours apart on August 9 and 10, 2021. The…
Optical Observations of BepiColombo Spacecraft as a Proxy for a Potential Threatening Asteroid
BepiColombo is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) designed to study the planet Mercury. Launched…
BepiColombo Images Venus During Close Approach for Gravity Assist
The joint European-Japanese BepiColombo mission captured this view of Venus on October 15, 2020, as the spacecraft passed the planet for a gravity assist maneuver….
BepiColombo’s First Venus Flyby – Gravity Assist to Set the Spacecraft on Course for Mercury Orbit
The ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission is getting ready to fly by Venus. It will make a close approach to the planet on October 15, 2020, at…
Eerie Outer Space: Listen to the Sounds of BepiColombo’s Earth Flyby
Listen to the sound of BepiColombo’s Earth flyby as captured in five recordings taken by two instruments aboard the Mercury Planetary Orbiter, one of the…
Top Five Mysteries About the Planet Mercury That BepiColombo Will Solve
Mercury is a desert world which scientists until recently considered quite uninteresting. NASA’s Mariner and MESSENGER missions, however, revealed that there is much more to…
See Last Stunning Snaps of Earth as Spacecraft Completes Flyby on Journey to Mercury
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission completed its first flyby on April 10, as the spacecraft came less than 12,700 km from Earth’s surface at 06:25 CEST,…