[Reading Science] This Is Mercury, the Youngest Member of the Solar System, the 'Water Planet'

European Space Agency Releases Images of Mercury from Hundreds of Kilometers Away
Mercury Probe 'BepiColombo' Captured on the 19th

The European Space Agency (ESA) revealed an astonishingly vivid image of Mercury on the 22nd (local time).

An image of Mercury taken by the Mercury probe BepiColombo, jointly launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), on the 19th. Photo by ESA

The Mercury probe 'BepiColombo,' jointly launched by ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), conducted its third flyby of Mercury on the 19th, approaching as close as 236 km before passing by. During this flyby, it captured images of Mercury rotating directly below using three cameras mounted on the spacecraft.

BepiColombo took a total of 217 photos from the moment it approached to an altitude of 1,789 km above Mercury's surface until it was 331,755 km away after the flyby. Unfortunately, at the closest approach, the probe was positioned over Mercury's night side, so no surface images were taken at that time.

The released photos include the approximately 219 km-wide 'Edna Manley Crater,' named after the Jamaican-born British artist Edna Manley. Also re-photographed was the roughly 600 km-long tectonic scarp 'Beagle Rupes,' which NASA's Messenger probe had captured about 10 years ago.

BepiColombo was launched in 2018 but is still en route to enter Mercury's orbit. This was its third flyby, and it must pass Mercury three more times. By orbiting the Sun and using the gravitational forces of Earth and Venus to adjust its speed, it plans to enter Mercury's orbit around 2025. The long journey is due to Mercury's proximity to the Sun. To enter Mercury's orbit directly, BepiColombo must overcome the Sun's strong gravity. Mercury, with a diameter of about 4,800 km, is the smallest planet in the solar system?only slightly larger than the Moon?resulting in weak gravity. Therefore, BepiColombo uses a gravity assist flight method, adjusting its trajectory gradually by orbiting the Sun and leveraging the gravity of Earth and Venus to gain enough energy to join Mercury's orbit. It has already performed two flybys in 2021 and 2022.

Upon arrival at Mercury, BepiColombo will separate into two parts: the Mercury Transfer Module, built by ESA, and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), made by JAXA. Its primary mission is to photograph Mercury's surface and analyze its magnetic field. The name BepiColombo comes from the Italian scientist Giuseppe Bepi Colombo, who first proposed the fuel-saving gravity assist flight during NASA's Mariner 10 Mercury mission in the 1970s.