BepiColombo
The most advanced mission to Mercury, the least explored planet of the inner Solar System
Out of the four rocky planets of the inner Solar System, Mercury is the one least explored. Hot and more difficult for an orbiter to reach than Saturn, the planet long eluded scientists. With its two probes, BepiColombo will be the second mission ever to orbit Mercury and the most complex one. Packed with scientific instruments, it will try to answer many perplexing questions: Why is there ice in the polar craters of the scorched planet? Why does Mercury have a magnetic field? And what are the mysterious 'hollows' on its surface? Learning more about Mercury will shed light on the history of the entire Solar System.
- Launch: 20 October 2018
- Components: Mercury Planetary Orbiter, Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, Mercury Transfer Module
- Status: In operations; en route to Mercury
- Mercury flybys: 1 Oct 2021, 23 June 2022, 19 June 2023, 5 Sept 2024, 1 Dec 2024, 8 Jan 2025
- Arrival at Mercury: 5 December 2025
- Beginning of routine science operations at Mercury: Expected in April 2026
- 2 Orbiters
- 7 year cruise
- 9 planet flybys
- 4100 kg launch mass
Latest
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ImageScience & Exploration
BepiColombo science themes
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StoryScience & Exploration
Why does it take so long to get to Mercury?
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StoryScience & Exploration
Where is Bepi? Explore the journey of ESA’s Mercury mission
BepiColombo overview
Video
Science & Exploration
BepiColombo’s third Mercury flyby: the movie
