BepiColombo collects data during its fifth Mercury flyby

BepiColombo collects data during its fifth Mercury flyby

by Erica Marchand

Paris, France (SPX) Nov 30, 2024

BepiColombo successfully completed its fifth flyby of Mercury on December 1, 2024, passing between the planet and the Sun and reaching a closest approach of 37,630 kilometers at 15:23 CET. This flyby marks another milestone in the spacecraft’s journey toward entering orbit around Mercury in 2026.

The encounter provided the first opportunity for BepiColombo’s MERTIS instrument to observe Mercury. The radiometer and thermal infrared spectrometer captured data in mid-infrared wavelengths (7-14 micrometers), a first for any spacecraft. These measurements are expected to shed light on the planet’s surface composition and temperature, helping scientists unravel the mysteries of Mercury’s mineralogy.

“The data collected by MERTIS during this flyby is a significant step in understanding the materials that make up Mercury’s surface,” mission scientists explained.

In addition to MERTIS, other instruments aboard BepiColombo monitored the environment outside Mercury’s magnetic field. The MPO-MAG and MMO-MGF magnetometers, the MGNS gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, the SIXS X-ray and particle spectrometer, the MDM dust monitor, and the PWI instrument, which measures electric fields, plasma waves, and radio waves, were all active during the flyby. These instruments collected valuable information about the solar wind and Mercury’s magnetosphere, contributing to a deeper understanding of the planet’s interaction with its space environment.

BepiColombo, a collaborative mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), comprises two science orbiters: ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter. While traveling toward Mercury, the orbiters remain attached to the Mercury Transfer Module, which provides propulsion and guidance.

With the successful completion of this flyby, BepiColombo continues its carefully planned trajectory toward orbit insertion, bringing the scientific community closer to unlocking the secrets of the Solar System’s least-explored planet.