Smithsonian Magazine · Mensch & Gesellschaft

BepiColombo Mission Begins Arrival Phase at Mercury After Eight-Year Journey

The BepiColombo mission, a joint effort by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has entered its arrival phase at Mercury, the solar system's smallest and innermost planet. This marks the beginning of a complex sequence after an eight-year voyage.

On September 3, the mission's propulsion module separated from the two science spacecraft, ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio). If all proceeds as planned, the spacecraft will begin orbiting Mercury on November 21 and separate approximately three weeks later, commencing scientific data collection in April 2027.

The mission faces significant challenges due to Mercury's harsh environment near the sun, including extreme thermal conditions and high radiation levels. Unlike other solar probes, BepiColombo will not have periods of respite as its distance from the sun remains constant.

The journey to Mercury, launched in October 2018, required substantial energy due to the sun's strong gravitational pull. The spacecraft utilized planetary flybys to gain the necessary energy for braking and trajectory adjustments, a method that consumes significant fuel.

Successfully entering Mercury's orbit is difficult as the spacecraft must achieve a precise speed to counteract the sun's gravity. The mission aims to study Mercury's composition, geophysics, atmosphere, magnetic field, gravitational field, and history, with MPO focusing on the planet's surface and Mio on its surroundings.

BepiColombo is the third mission to visit Mercury, following NASA's Mariner 10 in the 1970s and NASA's Messenger, which orbited the planet from 2011 to 2015. The data gathered is expected to help researchers validate or challenge existing theories about Mercury's gravitational field and other characteristics.

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