The European Space Agency Captures Stunning Images of Mercury with the BepiColombo Rover

The European Space Agency Reveals Stunning Images of Mercury

ESA corrected the date and time of the image release to June 23, 2023, at 17:31. The reading time for this article is 57 seconds.

The European Space Agency releases images of Mercury hundreds of kilometers away

The European Space Agency (ESA) recently unveiled captivating live images of Mercury, captured on June 19th. These images were taken by the Mercury Rover ‘BepiColombo’, a joint project between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

The BepiColombo Mercury probe successfully made contact with Mercury for the third time on June 19th, approaching up to 236 km before conducting a flyby flight. Equipped with three body-mounted cameras, BepiColombo captured astonishing images of Mercury rotating directly below.

During its journey, BepiColombo took a total of 217 photos from a distance of 1,789 km above Mercury’s surface to 331,755 km after the flyby. Unfortunately, due to the proximity occurring during a Mercury night, photographs of the planet’s face were not possible.

The published photos showcase the ‘Edna Manly Crater’, which spans approximately 219 km and is named after the British artist, Edna Manly, who was born in Jamaica. Additionally, the photos captured the ‘Beagle Rupes’ tectonic cliff, previously photographed by NASA’s messenger spacecraft roughly a decade ago.

BepiColombo, launched in 2018, is still en route to orbit Mercury. It will require three more transits of Mercury before entering its orbit around 2025. To navigate the challenge of Mercury’s strong gravity, BepiColombo utilizes a “gravity-assisted flight” method, adjusting its path by utilizing the gravitational pull of Earth and Venus while orbiting the Sun. It has already completed two successful entry tickets in 2021 and 2022.

Upon arrival, BepiColombo will divide into two components: the Mercury Transfer Module, constructed by ESA, and the Mercury Magnetopheric Orbiter (MMO), built by JAXA. The primary objective of this mission is to capture images of Mercury’s surface and analyze its magnetic field. The name “Bepi Colombo” pays homage to the Italian scientist Giuseppe “Bepi” Colombo, who proposed the concept of gravity-assisted flight fuel saving during NASA’s Mariner 10 exploration of Mercury in the 1970s.

This article was written by Kim Bong-soo, correspondent at bskim@asiae.co.kr.

input2023.06.23 08:57

correction2023.06.23 17:31

clock iconReading time 57 seconds

The European Space Agency releases images of Mercury hundreds of kilometers away
The Mercury Rover ‘BepiColombo’ photo was taken on the 19th

The European Space Agency (ESA) released a stunning live image of Mercury on the 22nd (local time).

Mercury image taken on the 19th by the BepiColombo Mercury probe launched jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). photo source: ESA

The Mercury probe ‘BepiColombo’, launched jointly by ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), made contact with Mercury for the third time on the 19th, up to 236 km, and then conducted a flyby flight. At the same time, three body-mounted cameras were used to capture images of Mercury rotating directly below.

BepiColombo took a total of 217 photos on the way from approach 1,789 km above Mercury’s surface to 331,755 km after Flybye. Unfortunately, however, when BepiColombo came close, it was on a Mercury night, so it was not possible to photograph the face.

The published photos show the ‘Edna Manly Crater’, which is approximately 219 km wide and is named after the British artist born in Jamaica, Edna Manly. Also, about 10 years ago, a NASA messenger spacecraft photographed the 600 km long ‘Beagle Rupes’ tectonic cliff, which was filmed again this time.

BepiColombo was launched in 2018, but is still flying to orbit Mercury. This is the third mode of transit, requiring three more transits of Mercury. It plans to enter Mercury’s orbit around 2025 when it orbits the sun and adjusts its speed using the gravity of Earth and Venus. The reason for such a long voyage is that Mercury is closest to the Sun. BepiColombo must overcome the Sun’s strong gravity to enter the orbit of Mercury, which is the smallest planet in the Solar System with a diameter of approximately 4800 km. It is only slightly larger than the moon, so its own gravity is weak. Accordingly, BepiColombo chose the ‘gravity assisted flight’ method, which is a method of obtaining enough energy to join Mercury’s orbit by slightly adjusting the path while orbiting the sun using the gravity of Earth and Venus. It has already held two entry tickets in 2021 and 2022.

After reaching Mercury, BepiColombo splits in two. It is divided into the Mercury Transfer Module made by ESA and the Mercury Magnetopheric Orbiter (MMO) made by JAXA. Its main mission is to image the surface of Mercury and analyze its magnetic field. The name Bepi Colombo comes from the Italian scientist Giuseppe Bepi Colombo. He first proposed gravity-assisted flight fuel saving during NASA’s Mariner 10 exploration of Mercury in the 1970s.

Correspondent Kim Bong-soo bskim@asiae.co.kr

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