Smithsonian Magazine · Geschiedenis en cultuur

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 spacecraft, ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio), which will now collect scientific data. The spacecraft are scheduled to begin orbiting Mercury on November 21 and will commence data collection in April 2027.

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

The journey, launched in October 2018, required substantial energy due to Mercury's proximity to the sun and the need to counteract its strong gravitational pull. The spacecraft utilized planetary flybys to gain the necessary energy for braking and trajectory adjustments.

Successfully entering Mercury's orbit is difficult as the spacecraft must achieve a precise speed to avoid overshooting the planet. The mission aims to study Mercury's composition, geophysics, atmosphere, magnetic 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.

AI-samenvatting op basis van de bron.