On 5 September, BepiColombo spacecraft made its closest approach yet to Mercury, sending back sharp, black-and-white images of the planet’s barren, speckled surface at sunrise.
- The spacecraft gave scientists their first clear view of Mercury’s south pole. It also captured several of the planet’s craters, including those with unusual rings of peaks within the basin’s rim.
About BepiColombo
- BepiColombo spacecraft is operated by the European Space Agency and Japan (ESA/JAXA). BepiColombo was launched in 2018.
- It will go into orbit around Mercury in 2026, about a year after its original arrival time.
Mercury
- Mercury is the least-studied rocky planet in the solar system.
- Mercury is difficult to get to because flying toward the sun causes spacecraft to pick up speed.
- A series of flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury are helping to slow down BepiColombo, which will eventually maneuver the mission into orbit around Mercury.
- Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system and the nearest to the Sun.
- The planet has an unexpected magnetic field and is rich in volatiles — elements like chlorine, sulfur and potassium — thought to readily evaporate on planets with high temperatures.
- Despite its proximity to the Sun, Mercury is not the hottest planet in our solar system – that title belongs to nearby Venus, thanks to its dense atmosphere.
- But Mercury is the fastest planet, zipping around the Sun every 88 Earth days.
