#BepiColombo has successfully completed its fourth of six gravity-assisted flybys of Mercury! 🛰️ 🚀 Launched on 19 October 2018 aboard an Ariane 5, Flight VA245, BepiColombo marks Europe’s first mission to Mercury. This interdisciplinary mission, carried out jointly by European Space Agency - ESA and JAXA: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, aims to deepen our understanding of the smallest and least explored planet in our solar system. >> Details of the launch are still available here: https://lnkd.in/emNQiuvT 🌌 By sending two probes as part of a single composite spacecraft, BepiColombo is exploring Mercury’s history, geology, composition, atmosphere, and magnetosphere, paving the way for future interplanetary exploration. 🤝 At Arianespace, we are proud of our strong partnership with Japan 🇯🇵 , which began with the opening of our Tokyo office in 1986. Stay tuned as BepiColombo approaches its next critical milestone on its journey to Mercury. This fourth Mercury flyby has lined BepiColombo up for a fifth and sixth flyby of the planet on 1 December 2024 and 8 January 2025. Together, we reach for the stars to bring new knowledge home. 🌍✨ #LaunchServices #DestinationSpace #SpaceExploration
🆕 The ESA/JAXA #BepiColombo mission has successfully completed its fourth of six gravity-assist flybys at Mercury, capturing images of two special impact craters as it uses the planet’s gravity to steer itself on course to enter orbit around Mercury in November 2026. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eXZH84d5 JAXA: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency