The photo sent by the joint mission BepiColombo of the European Union and Japan shows part of the northern hemisphere of Mercury, including several plains and craters.
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The European Space Agency (ESA) informed on Saturday (2) the joint Euro-Japanese mission BepiColombo took a photo of Mercury on October 1, 2021, when the spacecraft passed the planet for a gravity-assisted maneuver.
The image was taken by Monitoring Camera 2 of the Mercury Transfer Module when the spacecraft was about 2,418 kilometers from the planet. BepiColombo will study all planetary characteristics when in orbit around Mercury.
The region shown in the photo is part of the planet’s northern hemisphere, including the great Sihtu Planitia plain, which was inundated by lava. A rounded area smoother and brighter than its surroundings are the plains around Calvino crater, which are called the Rudaki Plains.
© Photo / ESA
Photo of Mercury’s surface taken on October 1, 2021 by the Mercury Transfer Module camera of the BepiColombo mission, about 2,418 km away from the planet
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The 166 km wide Lermontov crater is also seen in the photo. It looks bright because it has unique Mercury characteristics called “cavities” where volatile elements escape into space. It also contains an opening where volcanic explosions.
The Mercury Transfer Module carries two scientific orbiters: ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter.
From complementary orbits, orbiting devices will study all aspects of Mercury, from its core to the surface processes, magnetic field and exosphere, to better understand the origin and evolution of the planet closest to the Sun.
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