BepiColombo
ESA uncrewed space mission to Mercury
BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two orbiters: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), built and operated by ESA, and Mio (Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, MMO), built and operated by JAXA. Together the satellites will perform a comprehensive study of Mercury, including characterization of its magnetic field, magnetosphere, and both interior and surface structure.
During the cruise phase to reach Mercury, the orbiters were in a stacked configuration with two additional components: the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), which provided power and solar electric propulsion for the cruise, and the Magnetospheric Orbiter Sunshield and Interface (MOSIF), which protects Mio from the harsh solar radiation until it is deployed. MTM was jettisoned before orbit insertion at Mercury, whereas MOSIF will be detached from MPO after the Japanese orbiter is deployed.
In 2017 the spacecraft's cost was estimated at €1.65 billion (US$1.86 billion). It was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket on 20 October 2018, with Mercury orbit insertion planned for December 2025, after a flyby of Earth, two flybys of Venus, and six flybys of Mercury. In 2024, due to a power-related anomaly limiting the thrust levels on its solar electric propulsion system, Mercury arrival was delayed to November 2026.
Overview
The mission involves four components, including two orbiters which will separate into independent spacecraft upon arrival at Mercury:
Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) providing chemical and solar electric propulsion, by ESA
Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), built by ESA
Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) or Mio, by JAXA
Magnetospheric Orbiter Sunshield and Interface (MOSIF) to protect Mio during cruise, by ESA
During the launch and cruise phases, these four components were joined to form the Mercury Composite Spacecraft (MCS)
The stacked spacecraft took eight years to position itself to enter Mercury orbit. During this time it used solar electric propulsion and nine gravity assists, flying past the Earth and Moon in April 2020, Venus in 2020 and 2021, and six Mercury flybys between 2021 and 2025.
Expected to arrive in Mercury orbit in November 2026, the Mio and MPO satellites will separate and observe Mercury in collaboration for one year, with a possible one-year extension.
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This entry incorporates text from “BepiColombo” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.