BepiColombo carrying European and Japanese probes reaches Mercury this Thursday
BepiColombo, a mission carrying European and Japanese probes, is finally reaching Mercury this Thursday after an epic eight-year trip covering more than 10 billion kilometers.
Launched back in 2018, the spacecraft had to execute nine flybys just to line up with tiny, tricky Mercury, a planet that's still full of mysteries.
ESA MPO and Mio study Mercury
BepiColombo carries two probes: ESA's MPO will get up close to begin studying the planet closest to the Sun with unprecedented precision, passing just 480km from its surface from April, while Japan's Mio orbiter will study its magnetic field from farther out.
With a budget of €1.7 billion, the mission hopes to unlock how Mercury works and what makes it so unique in our solar system.
The journey itself is one of the toughest space arrivals ever attempted, so if you're into space firsts, this one definitely counts!