Friday Fun Fact – BepiColombo
26th June, 2026.
BepiColombo is a probe that is currently on it’s way to orbit Mercury, and is comprised of two different satellites. One is the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), and the other is the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, MMO. Very recently, on the 15th June 2026, at 13.24 UTC, it switched off it’s solar-electric propulsion for the last time, entering it’s arrival phase at Mercury, after 2 Venetian Flybys, 1 Earth Flyby, and 6 Mercury flybys.
BepiColombo is expected to be finally captured into Mercury’s orbit in November 2026, in a polar orbit. From there, a small maneuver will be needed to bring the craft into a proper orbit around Mercury, with an apocentre of 178,000 km. The two craft will then separate and adjust their orbits with their own thrusters.
BepiColombo is a joint mission, between JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and the ESA (European Space Agency). It has a cost of €1.65 billion, and was launched ontop of an Ariane 5 rocket on the 20th October, 2018.
Mission Schedule
| Date | Event | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 20th October 2018, 01.45 UTC | Launch | |
| 10th April 2020, 04.25 UTC | Earth Flyby | 1.5 years after launch |
| 15th October 2020, 03.58 UTC | First Venus Flyby | On the 15th October 2020, the ESA reported the flyby was a success. Closest approach at a distance of about 10,720km above the Venetian surface. |
| 10th August 2021, 13.51 UTC | Second Venus Flyby | 1.35 Venus years after the first Venus flyby. It was a success, and saw BepiColombo come within 552km of Venus’s Surface |
| 1st October 2021, 23.34 UTC | First Mercury Flyby | Passed 199 km above Mercury’s surface. Occured on the 101st anniversary of Giuseppe Colombo’s birth |
| 23rd June 2022, 09.44 UTC | Second Mercury Flyby | ~2 orbits (3 Mercury years), after the first flyby. Closest approach of 200km. |
| 19th June 2023, 19.34 UTC | Third Mercury flyby | ~3 Orbits (4.1 Mercury years after 2nd Mercury flyby. Closest approach of 236 km |
| 4th September 2024, 21.48 UTC | Fourth Mercury flyby | ~4 orbits (5.0 Mercury years) after 3rd Mercury flyby. Closest approach of about 165km |
| 1st December 2024, 14.23 UTC | Fifth Mercury flyby | 1 orbit (1.0 Mercury years) after 4th Mercury flyby. Closest approach about 37,626 km |
| 8th January 2025, 05.58 UTC | Sixth Mercury flyby | 0.4 orbits (0.4 Mercury years after 5th Mercury flyby. Closest approach about 295 km |
| November 2026 | Mercury orbit insertion | 7.8 Mercury years after 6th Mercury flyby. 60-hour orbital period |
| December 2026 | MMO reaches science orbit, detaches from MPO | 9.3 hour orbital period |
| Early 2027 | MPO reaches science orbit | 2.36 hour orbital period |
| April 2028 | End of nominal mission | |
| December 2029 | End of planned extended mission |
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