ARCHIVE CONTENT
16 OCT. 2018
publication date
43263
Views
Watch live as the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury is launched on an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
BepiColombo is the first European mission to Mercury, the smallest and least explored planet in the inner Solar System. It is the first Mercury mission to send two science orbiters to make complementary measurements of the planet’s dynamic environment at the same time.
A third module will transport the orbiters on the seven year cruise to Mercury, using a combination of solar electric propulsion and nine gravity assist flybys at Earth, Venus and Mercury.
Schedule (times subject to change):
03:15 CEST Start of live transmission
03:45 CEST Liftoff, followed by confirmation of acquisition of signal, expected around 40 minutes after launch
04:30 CEST End of live transmission
Media modal
BepiColombo overview
BepiColombo factsheet
Name: BepiColomboSpacecraft: Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO or Mio), and the Mercury Transport Module (MTM)Mission: To investigate Mercury, the innermost and least explored planet in the inner Solar System.
Top five Mercury mysteries that BepiColombo will solve
Mercury is a desert world which scientists until recently considered quite uninteresting. NASA’s Mariner and Messenger missions, however, revealed that there is much more to the smallest and innermost planet of the Solar System than meets the eye. Despite temperatures on its surface rising up to 450°C, there seems to be water ice on Mercury. The planet also appears to have a way too large inner core for its size and a surprising chemical composition. Here are the top five Mercury mysteries that the European-Japanese BepiColombo mission might solve.
Share this page
stay updated
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest news, mission updates, and exclusive insights directly in your inbox. Be the first to know about our upcoming projects and breakthroughs.