The spacecraft has spent years taking the long way around, and its most difficult maneuvers are only now beginning.
The BepiColombo mission is beginning the final stage of its nearly eight-year journey to Mercury – the planet closest to the Sun and one of the least explored planets in the Solar System. The project is being carried out jointly by the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
As informed by CNN
The spacecraft set out for Mercury in October 2018 from a spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana. An Ariane 5 launch vehicle was used for the mission. During its interplanetary journey, BepiColombo has traveled more than 10 billion kilometers.
The mission was named after the Italian engineer and mathematician Giuseppe “Bepi” Colombo, who studied the peculiarities of Mercury’s rotation. The exceptionally long route is due to the difficulty of entering orbit around the planet: the spacecraft must significantly reduce its speed and synchronize it with Mercury’s orbital velocity.
To accomplish this, BepiColombo used electric propulsion and gravity-assist maneuvers. In total, the spacecraft made nine flybys of Earth, Venus, and Mercury.
Mercury can be reached more quickly via a direct route, but in that case the spacecraft would have to be placed into orbit around the planet and given the same velocity. This would require a tremendous amount of energy.
– Frank Budnik
How BepiColombo will enter orbit around Mercury
After the interplanetary journey is complete, the transport module that propelled the spacecraft to Mercury will separate from the main assembly. A complex series of maneuvers will then begin to place the two scientific orbiters into their respective operational trajectories.
The Mercury Planetary Orbiter, or MPO, will study the planet’s surface and internal structure. The Japanese Mio magnetospheric orbiter will investigate Mercury’s magnetic field and the space environment around it.
The separation of the spacecraft is scheduled for December. After that, each will move into its own orbit. The official start of the scientific program will take place once all deployment and system-check operations have been completed. According to the mission team, the preparation phase will last about six months.
BepiColombo’s arrival will not be a single event. We have about six months of intensive work ahead of us.
– Ignacio Tanco
What research will be conducted on Mercury
Mercury is located, on average, about 58 million kilometers from the Sun and completes one full orbit around it every 88 days. Because of the planet’s proximity to the star, temperatures on its sunlit surface can reach 430 degrees Celsius, creating extremely challenging conditions for spacecraft operations.
BepiColombo’s orbiters will create detailed maps of Mercury and study its craters, traces of ancient volcanic activity, magnetic field, and exosphere – the planet’s extremely thin gaseous envelope.
Scientists will pay particular attention to mysterious hollows on Mercury’s surface. No similar structures have been found on any other planet in the Solar System. The absence of wind and water on Mercury makes it difficult to determine the processes that may have formed these features.
Researchers also hope to explain why Mercury has an exceptionally high density. One hypothesis suggests that, during the early stages of its formation, the planet may have collided with a large planetesimal and lost a substantial portion of its outer layers. Data from BepiColombo will help test this theory and provide a better understanding of the origins of the smallest planet in the Solar System.
Thus, the mission is moving from its exhausting interplanetary journey to an equally challenging phase of braking, spacecraft separation, and preparation for extended scientific observations in orbit around Mercury.