"BepiColombo’s Journey to Mercury: Stunning Flybys and Incredible Discoveries"

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The BepiColombo space probe, a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Space Agency (JAXA), has been on its way to Mercury since its launch in October 2018. There have been many stops to do on the way to this mysterious planet. The probe has already passed by Earth and twice by Venus. And four of the six flybys past Mercury are now complete. In this article we examine BepiColombo’s journey so far and discuss some special pictures that the investigator managed to capture along the way.

First flight by Mercury (October 1, 2021)

BepiColombo came for the first time flew close to Mercury in October 2021. The probe descended on the surface at a distance of only 199 km and managed to capture impressive pictures of the cratered landscapes of the least studied planet in our solar system. This first encounter gave us an insight into the rich, rugged geology of Mercury.

Second cycle of Mercury (June 23, 2022)

bee the second flyby BepiColombo passed the planet at a distance of only 200 km. During this encounter, the probe focused its cameras on some of the darkest regions of Mercury, providing a fascinating look at the surface material and its complex composition. These regions will be studied in even more detail once BepiColombo has settled into a stable orbit around the planet.

Third flyby of Mercury (June 19, 2023)

As third flyby BepiColombo brought closer to several unique geological structures, including some long rocks and cracks. The observations help scientists understand how Mercury’s crust has evolved over billions of years and what forces have been there.

Fourth flyby of Mercury (September 5, 2024)

During the most recent flyby in September 2024, BepiColombo again came very close to Mercury, capturing an amazing series of images that show how the planet got its high density and why its magnetic field is so strong. unusual The images also show the area where future orbital measurements are planned. Although we were there several weeks ago also widely reportedESA released this beautiful video compilation of this unique situation, which you can see below:

Video van Venus-flyby

BepiColombo’s second flyby The transit of Venus took place on August 10, 2021. During this encounter, the probe used a series of images to study the thickness and dynamics of the Venusian atmosphere. ESA also made a special video of this situation from the photos taken during this mission:

BepiColombo camera

The study consists of several parts: the ‘Mercury Movement Model’ which is responsible for the current voyage and movement and the scientific research orbiters ‘Mercury Planetary Orbiter’ (from the European Space Agency) and the ‘Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter’ (from Japan Space Agency). Once in orbit around Mercury, BepiColombo will release the two orbiters, and they will be safely stored while the probe is still on its way to Mercury. This means that some of the instruments, including the high resolution cameras for scientific observations that the orbiters have, cannot be used during the trip. To take pictures along the way, BepiColombo uses three ‘surveillance cameras’ that are actually designed to look at the technical condition of the probe itself, such as its antennas and solar panels. These cameras can only take black and white photos and the photos have a fairly low resolution (1024×1024 pixels).

The two orbiters on board aim to provide more insight into the composition, origin and evolution of Mercury. However, these will only be released when BepiColombo, after some delay, enters orbit around Mercury in November 2026. By then, the probe will have made nine gravitational turns . Through these complex pendulums, BepiColombo can effectively close the large speed difference without using too much propellant. Before November 2026, two more flights past Mercury await: on December 1, 2024 and January 8, 2025. We must be patient before BepiColombo reaches its destination. So the best photos are yet to come…

If you are curious where BepiColombo is now, click here for the ESA interactive map. If you want to check the ESA database of all 4,000 images taken by the BepiColombo surveillance cameras, click here (and click on ‘search’). To download photos 1 through 3, although not in the highest resolution, click here (1), here (2) from here (3).

In recent decades, space telescopes and satellites have taken beautiful pictures of nebulae, galaxies, stellar nurseries and planets. Every weekend we take an impressive space photo from the archive. Do you like all the pictures? Check them out on this page.

This article is dedicated to Sybrandt Bos (*1987), who was personally involved in the shipping of BepiColombo launch hardware and transport from Rotterdam to the launch site in Kourou. With his efforts he gave the stars a safe start to this mission. Sybrandt is a friend, colleague, devoted father and husband. His contribution lives on in every step BepiColombo takes in the discovery of our solar system.