ESA’s BepiColombo spacecraft is currently undertaking a series of gravity-assisted maneuvers around Mercury, capturing increasingly…
Browsing: BepiColombo
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.
In a thrilling close approach, the BepiColombo mission captured its final, stunning images of Mercury…
BepiColombo’s recent flyby of Mercury captured valuable data on its magnetic field and surrounding space…
On September 4, 2024, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft executed its closest flyby of Mercury, capturing…
New findings from BepiColombo show escape of heavy ions from Venus, hinting at complex atmospheric…
The joint European-Japanese mission, BepiColombo, has revealed how high-energy auroras on Mercury are formed. The…
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has made its third of six gravity assist flybys at Mercury,…
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has made its second gravity assist of planet Mercury, capturing new…
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission is gearing up for its second close flyby of Mercury on…
BepiColombo’s Mercury flyby offered first-ever southern hemisphere magnetic data, exosphere sampling, and sonified “sounds” of…
BepiColombo’s First Close Encounter with Mercury The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has captured its first views…
BepiColombo snapped a detailed image of Mercury during its first flyby, revealing volcanic plains and…
BepiColombo Begins First Mercury Flyby The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury will make the first…
Two spacecraft made historic flybys of Venus this month, and both sent back sci-fi-type views…
ESA’s Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo spacecraft made a historic Venus flyby earlier this week, passing…
Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo are set to make space history with two Venus flybys just…
BepiColombo’s Earth fly-by validated tracking methods for future asteroid impact predictions. BepiColombo is a joint…
The joint European-Japanese BepiColombo mission captured this view of Venus on October 15, 2020, as…