The graphic below shows the timeline of BepiColombo from its launch from Kourou, French Guiana on Oct 20, 2018 to its planned orbit insertion at Mercury on Dec 5, 2025.

It also shows the relative speed of the spacecraft and its distance from Mercury.

BepiColombo has so far completed one flyby of Earth, two of Venus and two flybys of Mercury.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BepiColombo
#BepiColombo #ESA #Science #Space #Mercury
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BepiColombo's speed relative to Mercury was ~3.6 km/s about a month ago. That was just over half the approach speed during the previous 2 Mercury flybys.

During the flyby, BepiColombo will have accelerated to 5.4 km/s relative to Mercury due to the planet’s gravitational pull, but the flyby will reduce its speed relative to the Sun by 0.8 km/s, and change its direction by 2.6°.

Here is an animation of BepiColombo's 7-year trajectory to #Mercury.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuQtRRQVlmg
#BepiColombo #ESA
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Here is a sequence of images from BepiColombo's 2nd close flyby of Mercury on June 23, 2022.

The images were taken by the two monitoring cameras (MCAM) onboard the Mercury Transfer Module, which provide black-and-white images at 1024 x 1024 pixel resolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiNS1gG43I0
#BepiColombo #ESA #Mercury
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The graphic below shows the location and orientation of the 3 M-CAM monitoring cameras on the Mercury Transfer Module.

The image acquisition system alternates quickly between the cameras with about 15-20 seconds between them.

The M-CAMs have 1024 x 1024 monochrome detectors.

BepiColombo has several other more sophisticated cameras and instruments for science operations.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo/BepiColombo_braces_for_third_Mercury_flyby
#BepiColombo #ESA #Mercury
5/n

BepiColombo will deploy 2 separate orbiters around Mercury -
ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) will study the planet's surface and interior.
JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO, aka Mio) will study the planet's magnetic field.

MPO orbit: 480 km by 1,500 km altitude, polar, 2.3 hour period.
Mio orbit : 590 km by 11,640 km altitude, polar, 9.3 hour period.

https://sci.esa.int/web/bepicolombo/-/59934-spacecraft-duo
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/BepiColombo_operations
#BepiColombo #ESA #JAXA #Mercury
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BepiColombo is named after Prof. Giuseppe 'Bepi' Colombo (Oct 2, 1920 – Feb 20, 1984), astronomer and engineer at the Univ of Padua, #Italy.

In 1965, he proposed that Mercury's orbital and rotational periods were locked in a 3:2 resonance, not 1:1.

Colombo's calculations showed how to get a spacecraft to Mercury using gravity assists by Venus and execute multiple flybys, an idea successfully used by the NASA Mariner 10 probe launched in 1973.

https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1966ApJ...145..296C
#BepiColombo #Mercury
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Did you know that most craters on Mercury are named after famous writers, artists and composers?

According to the rules by IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, all new craters must be named after an artist that was famous for more than 50 years, and dead for more than 3 years, before the date they are named.

The graphic below contains the list of names starting with A.
See full list at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_craters_on_Mercury

The names make a good knowledge test 🤔

#BepiColombo #Mercury
10/n

Here is an approach shot of Mercury taken by BepiColombo's monitoring camera M-CAM 1 at 10:32 UTC today from a distance of 121,000 km.

The structure on the right is the solar array of the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM).
The bright stripe spanning the width of the image and passing across Mercury is an imaging artefact.

Images of the flyby today at 17:34 UTC and those of the departure from Mercury will be released tomorrow.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo
#BepiColombo #Mercury #ESA
11/n

First images from BepiColombo's 3rd flyby of Mercury were just released.

These 3 images were taken by the Mercury Transfer Module’s monitoring camera 3 (M-CAM 3) as the spacecraft swung around the night side of Mercury and raced away, cameras clicking.

Closest approach took place at 19:34 UTC.

Manley is a crater newly named in honor of Jamaican artist Edna Manley (Feb 28, 1900 – Feb 2, 1987).

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo/A_trio_of_images_highlight_BepiColombo_s_third_Mercury_flyby
#BepiColombo #Mercury #ESA #JAXA
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