11:09 April 19, 2020(updated 11:12 19.04.2020) Short url
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On its way to Mercury, the BepiColombo space probe took images of the Earth collected in a video by the European Space Agency, on which we see the device itself and the processes of approaching and moving away from the planet . As closely as possible, we can see the contours of several continents.
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A space video made with around 200 images taken near Earth by the BepiColombo probe, which is currently heading for Mercury, has been published by the European Space Agency (ESA).
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With the mission of reaching the first planet in the solar system, the aircraft carried out a gravitational maneuver near Earth to adjust its trajectory between April 9 and 11. In some shots taken by the cameras with which the probe is equipped, it is possible to see parts of the device with our planet in the background.
At the start of the video, Earth appears from afar and becomes larger as the probe approaches it. Then, we can discern the contours of East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and India in the images taken at the nearest point, less than 13,000 kilometers from the surface of the Earth, explains the ESA. Finally, the latest images show the blue planet as a brilliant crescent in the darkness of the Universe.
BepiColombo’s mission
Launched by ESA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2018, BepiColombo is expected to explore Mercury by placing itself in its orbit. Scientists hope to obtain information on the composition of the planet, its density and its magnetic field.
Between the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021, the spacecraft will have to make two gravitational maneuvers around Venus, before taking the direction of Mercury. The space probe will go into orbit in December 2025 after a series of overflights and gravitational assistance.
