Mission to Mercury launches successfully
A joint Japanese–European mission that is set to be the second-ever to enter Mercury’s orbit launched successfully on 20 October from Kourou, French Guiana.
The €1.6-billion mission, called BepiColombo, will insert two probes into the planet’s orbit in 2025, after several fly-bys past Earth, Venus and Mercury itself.
One probe, built primarily by the European Space Agency (ESA), will study Mercury’s surface and its inner structure.
The other one, built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will focus on the planet’s magnetic field and its interaction with solar wind.
Hours after launch, BepiColombo successfully deployed its antennas and two 15-metre-long ‘solar wings’, ESA said. The craft also took several “space selfies” using three on-board monitoring cameras.
BepiColombo in numbers
1 Earth fly-by
2 Venus fly-bys
6 Mercury fly-bys before it arrives in its orbit on 5 December 2025
7 years to reach Mercury’s orbit
9 billion kilometres total travel distance
13 minutes maximum travel time for a one-way signal between the probe and Earth
60 kilometres per second fastest speed the probe will reach
240 million kilometres maximum distance between the probe and Earth
–180 °C to +450 °C temperature range the probe will experience at Mercury
Source: ESA