BepiColombo
[5] The mission will perform a comprehensive study of Mercury, including characterization of its magnetic field, magnetosphere, and both interior and surface structure.[9] On 2 September, ESA reported that to compensate for the reduced available thrust, a revised trajectory had been developed that would add 11 months to the cruise, delaying the expected arrival date from 5 December 2025 to November 2026.[10] BepiColombo is named after Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo (1920–1984), a scientist, mathematician and engineer at the University of Padua, Italy, who first proposed the interplanetary gravity assist manoeuvre used by the 1974 Mariner 10 mission, a technique now used frequently by planetary probes.In Japanese, Mio means a waterway, and according to JAXA, it symbolizes the research and development milestones reached thus far, and wishes for safe travel ahead.[1] Although originally expected to enter orbit in December 2025, thruster issues discovered in September 2024 before its 4th flyby resulted in a delayed arrival of November 2026.Mercury is too small and hot for its gravity to retain any significant atmosphere over long periods of time, but it has a "tenuous surface-bounded exosphere"[24] containing hydrogen, helium, oxygen, sodium, calcium, potassium and other trace elements.Four final thrust arcs reduce the relative velocity to the point where Mercury will "weakly" capture the spacecraft in November 2026 into polar orbit.This leads to a flight profile with months-long continuous low-thrust braking phases, interrupted by planetary gravity assists, to gradually reduce the velocity of the spacecraft.The solar array requires continuous rotation keeping the Sun at a low incidence angle in order to generate adequate power while at the same time limiting the temperature.[50] The MPO will carry a payload of 11 instruments, comprising cameras, spectrometers (IR, UV, X-ray, γ-ray, neutron), a radiometer, a laser altimeter, a magnetometer, particle analysers, a Ka-band transponder, and an accelerometer.The payload components are mounted on the nadir side of the spacecraft to achieve low detector temperatures, apart from the MERTIS and PHEBUS spectrometers located directly at the main radiator to provide a better field of view.[8] At the time of cancellation, MSE was meant to be a small, 44 kg (97 lb), lander designed to operate for about one week on the surface of Mercury.
BepiColombo · Earth · Venus · Mercury · Sun
For more detailed animation, see this video
Planetary scienceCOSPAR IDSATCAT no.AirbusAriane 5 ECA(VA245)Centre Spatial GuyanaisArianespaceMercuryPerihermion altitudeApohermion altitudeHorizon 2000 PlusLISA PathfinderCHEOPSEuropean Space AgencyJapan Aerospace Exploration Agencymagnetic fieldmagnetosphereAriane 5Horizon 2000+Giuseppe "Bepi" ColomboscientistmathematicianengineerUniversity of Paduagravity assistMariner 10solar windwǔxíngnear-Earth asteroidprovisional designationprime contractorAirbus Defence and SpaceAriane flight VA245ion thrustersgravity assistsCebreros, Spaingravitationalgamma rayneutron spectrometersexospherehydrogenheliumoxygensodiumcalciumpotassiumMercury's exosphereMercury's magnetic fieldgeneral relativityparameterized post-Newtonian formalismsolar-electric propulsionhyperbolicheliocentric orbitgravity-assistpolar orbitrequest for proposalsAstriumlaunch vehiclesolar electric propulsionGiuseppe ColomboNortholt Branch ObservatoriesINSAT-2Dgeostationary satelliteQinetiQ T6Specific impulseQinetiQsolar panelsthrustγ-rayneutronhigh-gain antennaX-bandKa-bandkbit/sLaser AltimeterUniversity of BernMax Planck Institute for Solar System ResearchInstituto de Astrofísica de AndalucíaAccelerometerMagnetometerGermanyUnited KingdomThermal Infrared SpectrometerGamma-ray and Neutron SpectrometerRussiaImaging X-ray SpectrometerUniversity of LeicesterMax Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial PhysicsRadio-scienceUnited StatesUltraviolet SpectroscopyFranceEuropean Space Research and Technology Centrenear infrared spectrometerSwitzerlandX-ray and Particle SpectrometerFinlandAustriasolar cellscold gas thrustersSagamihara Space Operation CenterUsuda Deep Space CenterNagano, Japanplasmaneutral particlesTechnical University of BraunschweigInstitute of Space and Astronautical Scienceatmosphere of Mercuryalpha particle X-ray spectrometerseismometerExploration of MercuryMESSENGERMinor Planet CenterRosettaBibcodepublic domainWayback MachineJoy, K.National Space Science Data CenterOutlineAlbedo featuresAtmosphereFeaturesQuadranglesBeethoven