BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. [4] The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mio (Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, MMO). [5]

Feb 26, 2025 · BepiColombo is a joint European-Japanese mission to Mercury to study the planet's composition, geophysics, atmosphere, magnetosphere, and history. The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) each have an orbiter on the same spacecraft.

BepiColombo is Europe's first mission to Mercury. Launched on 20 October 2018, it is on a seven year journey to the smallest and least explored terrestrial planet in our Solar System.

BepiColombo will be the second and most complex mission ever to orbit Mercury. Close to the Sun and more difficult for an orbiter to reach than Saturn, this small desert world is the least explored planet of the inner Solar System.

Jan 6, 2025 · BepiColombo is more than six years into its eight-year journey to planet Mercury. In total, it is using nine planetary flybys to help steer itself into orbit around the small rocky planet: one at Earth, two at Venus, and six at Mercury. Making the most of this sixth close approach to the small rocky planet, BepiColombo's cameras and various ...

BepiColombo will be the Agency's first experience of sending a planetary probe so close to the Sun. BepiColombo’s mission is especially challenging because Mercury's orbit is so close to our star. The planet is hard to observe from a distance, because the Sun is so bright.

Sep 2, 2024 · An investigation found what ESA called “unexpected electric currents” between solar arrays on one part of BepiColombo, the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), and a power distribution unit.

Jan 14, 2025 · Sequence of 89 images taken by the monitoring cameras on board the European-Japanese BepiColombo mission to Mercury, as the spacecraft made a close approach of Venus on August 10th, 2021.

Jan 10, 2025 · BepiColombo is a collaborative mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to Mercury. The mission aims to study the planet’s composition, geophysics, atmosphere, magnetosphere, and history.

Nov 21, 2014 · BepiColombo - Exploring Mercury. Europe's first mission to Mercury. Welcome to ESA's website for the BepiColombo scientific community and the BepiColombo Science Ground Segment. The target audience for this site is scientists and engineers involved in the BepiColombo mission.