BepiColombo’s closest approach to Mercury. Credit: European Space Agency
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has successfully completed its fourth of six gravity assist flybys at Mercury, capturing images of two special impact craters as it uses the little planet’s gravity to steer itself on course to enter orbit around Mercury in November 2026.
The closest approach took place at 23:48 CEST (21:48 UTC) on 4 September 2024, with BepiColombo coming down to around 165 km above the planet’s surface. For the first time, the spacecraft had a clear view of Mercury’s south pole.
“The main aim of the flyby was to reduce BepiColombo’s speed relative to the sun, so that the spacecraft has an orbital period around the sun of 88 days, very close to the orbital period of Mercury,” says Frank Budnik, BepiColombo Flight Dynamics Manager.
“In this regard it was a huge success, and we are right where we wanted to be at this moment. But it also gave us the chance to take photos and carry out science measurements, from locations and perspectives that we will never reach once we are in orbit.”
Images from BepiColombo’s three monitoring cameras have arrived back on Earth, providing a unique view of Mercury’s surface from three different angles. BepiColombo approached Mercury from the ‘nightside’ of the planet, with Mercury’s cratered surface becoming increasingly lit up by the sun as the spacecraft flew by.
M-CAM 2 provided the best views of the planet during this flyby, capturing more and more of the planet as BepiColombo came round to the side of Mercury lit by the sun. M-CAM 3 also chipped in a stunning image of a newly named impact crater.
2024-09-05 19:15:02
Source from phys.org