The two BepiColombo spacecraft have begun their final approach to Mercury

The two BepiColombo spacecraft have begun their final approach to Mercury

The European-Japanese BepiColombo mission has begun the final stage of its journey to Mercury after eight years in space. On 3 September, the transport module, which had been propelling the spacecraft during their interplanetary journey, successfully separated from the spacecraft pair.

The two scientific orbiters remain docked for the time being. They are scheduled to enter Mercury’s orbit on 21 November 2026, separate in December and begin their scientific operations in April 2027.

Details

BepiColombo is a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It comprises the European Mercury Planetary Orbiter and the Japanese Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, also known as Mio.

The journey began on 20 October 2018. To slow down and approach the small planet near the Sun, the mission utilised gravitational manoeuvres near Earth, Venus and Mercury.

The transport module separated from the spacecraft more than 200 million kilometres from Earth. The success of the operation was confirmed by radio signals received by deep-space communication stations in Spain and Argentina. According to the ESA, the systems are operating normally, and the solar panels on the European spacecraft are charging its batteries.

After being captured by Mercury’s gravity, the two spacecraft are due to separate on 9–10 December. Mio will study the planet’s magnetic field and its interaction with the solar wind, whilst the European orbiter will investigate Mercury’s surface, composition and internal structure.

Why this is important

BepiColombo will be the first mission in which Mercury is studied simultaneously by two orbiters. This will allow for the comparison of data on the planet’s surface and its magnetic environment, obtained at the same time.

However, the arrival is not yet complete. The successful separation of the carrier module was only the first stage: the spacecraft still have to carry out trajectory corrections, enter orbit and deploy. ESA warns that the exact dates of the next operations may change for technical reasons.

Source

Main source — the European Space Agency’s operational bulletin on BepiColombo’s arrival at Mercury: ESA, Latest updates: BepiColombo’s arrival at Mercury. Further information on the sequence of operations: BepiColombo arrival at Mercury timeline.