- The UK-built spacecraft BepiColombo has completed its sixth and final flyby of Mercury, capturing detailed images of the planet.
- Built by Airbus in Stevenage, the spacecraft will enter Mercury’s orbit in 2026 to begin its main mission.
- The mission aims to uncover Mercury’s composition and explore the possibility of water in its craters.
- This flyby marked the last close-up images from its monitoring cameras, as they will separate from the main satellites.
- Scientists are eager to analyze the new data gathered from the flyby.
The UK-built BepiColombo spacecraft, launched in 2018, has successfully completed its final flyby of Mercury. Built by Airbus (formerly Astrium) in Stevenage, the spacecraft captured stunning images of the planet’s surface, offering scientists a last close look before entering Mercury’s orbit in 2026.
Mission Details and Achievements
BepiColombo comprises two satellites equipped to study Mercury for at least a year. During its recent flyby, the spacecraft passed 295km (183 miles) above the planet’s surface, capturing images of its north poles illuminated by sunlight.
The mission aims to:
1. Explore Mercury’s composition.
2. Investigate whether water could exist in its deep craters.
The spacecraft required nine flybys of Earth, Venus, and Mercury to achieve the necessary speed to be captured by Mercury’s gravity.
Significance of the Final Flyby
This flyby is the last opportunity for BepiColombo’s monitoring cameras to capture close-up images of Mercury, as the cameras are attached to a module that will now separate from the main satellites.
Frank Budnik, flight dynamics manager for BepiColombo, noted:
“BepiColombo’s main mission phase may only start two years from now, but all six of its flybys of Mercury have given us invaluable new information about the little-explored planet.”
Geraint Jones, project scientist at the European Space Agency, added:
“The data from this flyby will help us unravel as many of Mercury’s mysteries as we can.”
Once in orbit, BepiColombo will begin its primary mission to uncover Mercury’s secrets, including its geological and chemical composition, and assess the potential for water in its shadowy craters.
BepiColombo’s final flyby marks a significant milestone in space exploration. As the spacecraft prepares for its next phase, scientists eagerly anticipate new discoveries about one of the solar system’s least understood planets.
