BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) that was launched in October 2018 to study all aspects of Mercuryfrom how it interacts with the solar wind, the structure and dynamics of its magnetosphere, its internal structure, to the origin of its magnetic field.
Looking to the future, all this data will allow scientists to better understand the general evolution of our solar system and learn more about the origin and evolution of a planet close to its parent star. Furthermore, after his arrival at Mercury at the end of 2026two orbiters will separate and begin maneuvering to their polar orbits to begin science operations in early 2027.
However, BepiColombo also will create global maps of the chemical and elemental composition of the surface, and even will take images of your formations to understand geological processes and how the surface has been changing due to impact craters, tectonic activity, volcanism and polar ice deposits.
Although all this information will take a few years to arrive, last Wednesday, January 8, BepiColombo flew over Mercury for the sixth time to complete the last “gravity assistance maneuver” and, surprisingly, captured the first close-up images of the planet’s surface.
The ESA explains on its official blog that, “after passing through Mercury’s shadow, BepiColombo’s surveillance camera 1 (M-CAM 1) obtained the first close-up images of Mercury’s surface. By flying over the ‘terminator’ (the limit between day and night), the probe had the unique opportunity to directly observe the craters of the planet’s north polewho remain in eternal shadow”.
Specifically, the images captured show the vast plains volcanic which were formed by the widespread eruption of fluid lava 3.7 billion years ago, linear depressions which extend over a large part of Mercury’s surface, volcanic activity and big impacts.
Geraint Jones, BepiColombo project scientist at ESA, says on the official ESA blog that “the main phase of the BepiColombo mission may begin within two years. In the coming weeks, the BepiColombo team will be working hard to Unravel as many mysteries of Mercury as possible with the data from this overflight”.
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