BepiColombo completes its closest approach to Mercury
(ESA / BepiColombo / MTM https://bit.ly/3NHMeRy)
The Mercury probe BepiColombo made its third gravitational maneuver near the planet, being at a minimum distance of 236 kilometers from its surface.
The maneuver made it possible to slow down the speed of the devices in relation to the Sun and adjust their trajectory.
The BepiColombo spacecraft was launched into space in 2018 and became the third project to explore Mercury.
The other two missions are:
the European probe MPO (Mercury Planetary Orbiter)
the Japanese MMO (Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter)
It is expected that in December 2025 they will enter working polar orbits, and the scientific program will begin in 2026.
The flight to Mercury includes nine gravitational maneuvers, BepiColombo has already made one such maneuver near the Earth, two near Venus and two near Mercury.
The third gravitational maneuver near Mercury occurred on June 19, 2023, the spacecraft was at a minimum distance of 236 kilometers from the surface of the planet, above its night side.
During the rendezvous, the onboard cameras received several dozen images of Mercury, which included impact craters and basins, as well as ledges.
Other scientific instruments have investigated plasma and magnetic fields in the vicinity of the planet.
Also, a laser altimeter and the MORE instrument have been turned on for the first time to study the gravitational field of Mercury.
The next maneuver at Mercury will take place in the fall of 2024.
Until that moment BepiColombo will turn on the engines of the flight module for a long time to compensate for the gravitational influence of the Sun on its trajectory.
Sources:
- ESA: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo/A_trio_of_images_highlight_BepiColombo_s_third_Mercury_flyby
- IFLScience: https://www.iflscience.com/bepicolombo-snaps-new-images-of-mercury-in-closest-flyby-yet-69466
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