The ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury lifts off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
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The BepiColombo modules are being prepared for launch at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou.
The mission comprises two science orbiters –ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter –and the Mercury Transfer Module. The transfer module will use solar electric propulsion to take the two science orbiters to the Mercury, together with gravity assist flybys at Earth, Venus and Mercury itself.
BepiColombo is Europe's first mission to Mercury, due to launch this year on a journey to the smallest and least explored terrestrial planet in the inner Solar System.
Credits: ESA - M. Pedoussaut
Tags: BepiColombo Bepi MPO MTM Mercury Solar System JAXA Aerospace 宇宙航空研究開発機構 ISAS MMO 水星探査計画BepiColombo 水星磁気圏探査機MMO 水星探査 ESA European Space Agency Space Universe Cosmos Space Science Science Space Technology Tech Technology Guyane Clean Room
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The BepiColombo spacecraft stack mounted on the launcher.
BepiColombo is a joint endeavour between ESA and JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter is seen at the top of the stack, ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter is in the middle, and ESA’s Mercury Transfer Module is at the bottom.
Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG – JM Guillon
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The BepiColombo Mercury Transfer Module and Mercury Planetary Orbiter being prepared for chemical propulsion fueling.
The transfer module will use both ion propulsion and chemical propulsion, in combination with gravity assist flybys at Earth, Venus and Mercury to bring the two science orbiters close enough to Mercury to be gravitationally captured into its orbit. There, ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter will use its small thrusters to deliver JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter into its elliptical orbit around Mercury, before separating and descending to its own orbit closer to the planet.
Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG – P.Baudon
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The images captured by BepiColombo’s monitoring camera during the Venus flyby on 15 October are already available in the Planetary Science Archive, the central repository for all scientific data returned by ESA's Solar System missions.
While data generated by the main science instruments on all missions are typically subject to a proprietary period of several months, the BepiColombo monitoring camera team have committed to turning their data around in just ten days or less. This is one of the fastest data releases into the archive.
There are three monitoring cameras – also known as M-CAMs or ‘selfie cams’ – onboard the Mercury Transfer Module of the BepiColombo mission. The cameras provide black-and-white snapshots in 1024 x 1024 pixel resolution. The main science camera that will provide high resolution imagery is part of the Mercury Planetary Orbiter’s suite of eleven science instruments, and will only be active once arriving in Mercury orbit in 2025.
The almost real-time release of M-CAM images via ESA’s public web platform and social media channels will continue around key mission events, enabling the public to ride along with the mission and see what the spacecraft is seeing as it journeys to Mercury.
Access the M-CAM image archive here.
If you create a gif, mosaic or other creative product with the images, do share it with our @bepicolombo twitter account!
BepiColombo is a joint endeavour between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Credits: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
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