BepiColombo: the final meeting with Mercury before the great exploration
The BepiColombo space mission carried out its sixth and final flyby of Mercury, the most little-known planet in our solar system. This daring maneuver represents the final preparation before the probe enters orbit around Mercury in 2026.
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The legacy of Giuseppe Colombo
The BepiColombo mission takes its name from the Italian mathematician and engineer Giuseppe “Bepi” Colombowhose work has been instrumental in our understanding of Mercury. His scientific heritage inspires this ambitious mission, which pushes the boundaries of space exploration and our knowledge of the solar system.
A carefully orchestrated cosmic ballet
On January 8, 2025, BepiColombo will come as close as 295 km from the surface of Mercury, in a precise spatial choreography. This exceptional proximity will allow the probe to capture new images and make unique measurements of the Mercurian environment. This flyby, the last in a series of six, will play a crucial role in reducing the spacecraft's speed and adjusting its trajectory.
An ambitious mission resulting from international collaboration
BepiColombo, the result of a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), embodies the spirit of international cooperation in space exploration. Launched in October 2018, this complex mission uses a series of planetary flybys to navigate towards its final destination: Mercure. This approach saves fuel while providing unique opportunities for observation and study.
Technical challenges that match scientific ambition
The BepiColombo mission faces considerable technical challenges. One of the most important is thermal management, with Mercury being subject to extreme temperatures passing from -180°C to +430°C. During the flyby, the probe will pass through Mercury's shadow for more than 23 minutes, requiring careful energy and temperature management. This critical phase will test the probe's systems as well as the vigilance of the ground teams.
A unique look at Mercury's north pole
One of the moments that will generate the most excitement among scientists during this flyby will be the passage over Mercury's north pole. This unique trajectory will allow BepiColombo to observe craters whose interior is never exposed to the sun. These regions of permanent shadow, where temperatures are freezing despite the proximity of the Sun, could harbor water ice, a hypothesis that the mission seeks to confirm.
-A harvest of scientific data
Although the main phase of the mission does not begin until 2026, this flyby provides a valuable data collection opportunity. The instruments of BepiColomboincluding particle analyzers, magnetometers and a dust monitor, will be activated to study Mercury's magnetic and particle environment. These measurements, taken in regions that the probe will no longer be able to visit once in orbit, are of capital importance for scientists.
Towards a deeper understanding of Mercury
BepiColombo aims to break through mysteries of Mercurythe least explored planet in the inner solar system. The mission seeks to understand the composition, geophysics, atmosphere and magnetosphere of this enigmatic planet. The data collected during this flyby and during the main mission will help elucidate fundamental questions about the formation and evolution of our solar system.
A countdown to discovery
As BepiColombo prepares to make its final flyby, excitement is building within the scientific community. The images and data collected during this close pass will offer a fascinating taste of what the mission will reveal once it orbits Mercury. Each flyover brought its share of surprises and discoveriesand this last meeting promises to be just as rich in lessons.
The dawn of a new era of Mercury exploration
With the mission's orbital phase approaching in 2026, BepiColombo is poised to open a new chapter in the exploration of Mercury. THE two orbiters which make up the mission, the ESA planetary orbiter and the JAXA magnetospheric orbiter, will separate to begin their respective missions. This unique configuration will allow a complete study and multidimensional of Mercury, promising discoveries that could revolutionize our understanding not only of this planet, but also of the formation and evolution of rocky planets in general.
1 million degrees: this alliance between Europe and India gives birth to this incredible technology which creates artificial eclipses to solve this mystery of our solar system
This article presents the BepiColombo mission and the challenges of its mission through its sixth and final flyby of Mercury which took place 2 days ago. It details the scientific objectives, technical challenges and importance of this joint ESA-JAXA mission in the exploration of the planet closest to the Sun.
Source : ESA
