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BepiColombo industrial contract signed

18 January 2008

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ESA and Astrium sign the BepiColombo contract

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On 18 January 2008 ESA and Astrium signed the industrial contract to start the development of ESA´s BepiColombo mission to Mercury. The ceremony took place in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

From the left: ESA´s Director of Science, Prof. David Southwood; the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Guenther Oettinger; the CEO of Astrium Satellites, Evert Dudok.

Credits: Astrium

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This artist’s impression provides a view of the two BepiColombo spacecraft, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), in their elliptical polar orbits around Mercury.

The MPO will circle the planet along an orbit ranging between 400 and 1500 kilometres above the surface. The MMO orbit ranges between 400 and 12 000 kilometres above the surface. The inclination and the eccentricity of these orbits are optimised for the study of the planet and of its magnetosphere in the very high temperature environment around Mercury.

The MPO will circle the planet along an orbit ranging between 400 and 1500 kilometres distance from the surface. The MMO orbit ranges between 400 and 12000 kilometres from the surface. The inclination and the eccentricity of these orbits are optimised for the study of the planet and of its magnetosphere in the very-high-temperature environment around Mercury.

Credits: ESA - image by C.Carreau

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This image provides a close-up on the jets of ionised gas ejected by BepiColombo’s solar-electric propulsion (SEP) system.

In its cruise configuration, BepiColombo consists of: a transfer module, the Mercury Planetary Orbit (MPO), the sun shield and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO).

The transfer module is provided with both solar-electric propulsion and chemical propulsion units. The former will be used during the cruise to destination; the latter will be used to boost the initial launch orbit out to the Moon for a gravity assist manoeuvre.

Credits: ESA - C. Carreau

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BepiColombo’s cruise components separate at Mercury

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Upon arrival at Mercury in 2019, the components of the BepiColombo cruise-configuration spacecraft will separate. The transfer module will be ejected into space and the composite spacecraft, consisting of the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), will use conventional rocket engines and the so-called 'weak stability boundary capture technique' to enter into polar orbit around the planet. When the MMO orbit is reached, the MPO will separate and lower its altitude to its operational orbit by chemical propulsion. Scientific investigations will go on for at least one Earth year (that is four Mercury orbits around the Sun).

Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab

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This artist’s impression shows BepiColombo’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) in orbit around Mercury.

The MPO, led by ESA, will study the planet itself and, among several investigations, make complete maps of Mercury in several wavelengths. It will also map the planet's mineralogy and elemental composition and determine whether the planet has a molten core.

The MPO will work in tandem with the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), led by JAXA, which will study the magnetosphere (the region of space around a planet dominated by its magnetic field).

BepiColombo is the first ever dual-satellite mission to Mercury.

Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab

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