A spacecraft from the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has made its final flyby of Mercury, as scientists are now working to guide BepiColombo into the planet’s orbit.
During the sixth flight, the ESA expected the spacecraft to fly less than 200 miles (320 kilometers) above the Swift Planet, taking measurements of Mercury’s magnetic field and capturing stunning images.
The mission, largely considered a success, has made six flybys of the planet since 2021, each time studying features such as craters and the planet’s magnetic field.
The space agency has released images showing a rocky, crater-filled surface where previous lava flows are likely to have occurred.
One of several previously unknown craters was spotted by BepiColombo’s cameras and was estimated to be nearly 100 miles in diameter.
At the request of the operations team, the International Astronomical Union recently named the crater ‘Stoddart’ in honor of Margaret Olrog Stoddart, a famous New Zealand artist known for her flower paintings.
“When we were planning this flyby we saw that this crater would be visible and decided it was worth naming because of the potential interest to BepiColombo scientists in the future,” said David Rothery , planetary professor and member of the BepiColombo team, previously. .
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Other large craters include the Caloris Basin, Hokusai, Shakespeare and Vivaldi, which are believed to have been created by impacts from large asteroids or comets.
The spacecraft will continue its journey to Mercury’s orbit, where it will study the planet’s surface and magnetic field in more detail for at least a year.
“In 2027, the main science phase of the mission will begin. The spacecraft’s suite of scientific instruments will reveal the unseen about the solar system’s most mysterious planet, to better understand the origin and evolution of a planet close to its host star,” the researchers said. ESA stated.
The mission is said to be behind schedule due to limited propulsion from the electric thrusters.
The ESA flight team came up with a creative solution, which kept the mission on track by using the planet’s gravity to help slow the spacecraft.
“We can’t wait to see what BepiColombo will reveal during this sixth and final flight past Mercury. Although we are still two years away from the main science phase of the mission, we expect this encounter to provide us with beautiful images and important scientific insights. to the least explored terrestrial planet,” Geraint Jones, a scientist at the ESA, said in a statement.
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The innermost planet is one of the least studied planets in the solar system, mainly due to its proximity to the Sun.
NASA estimates that daytime temperatures on the planet could reach 800°F, while nighttime readings could drop as low as -290°F.
Several countries have proposed launching lander missions on the planet, but no lander is expected to launch from Earth before 2030.
Original article source: Spacecraft makes final flight past the smallest planet in the solar system
