BepiColombo spacecraft

About BepiColombo spacecraft:

• It is a joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission to Mercury.
• The mission was named after Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo, an Italian mathematician and engineer who made significant contributions to the understanding of Mercury's orbit.
• It was launched on October 20, 2018, and is an ambitious and complex mission designed to study Mercury's surface, composition, magnetic field and its interaction with the solar environment.
• The BepiColombo spacecraft consists of two main components:
  • Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO): The MPO is primarily provided by ESA and is responsible for mapping and studying Mercury's surface, as well as its composition and topography.
  • Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO): The MMO is provided by JAXA and focuses on studying Mercury's magnetic field and magnetosphere.
• Objectives:
  • Investigating Mercury's surface and composition to better understand its geological history and formation processes.
  • Studying Mercury's magnetic field and magnetosphere to gain insights into its internal structure and how it interacts with the solar wind.
  • Measuring Mercury's exosphere (a thin atmosphere) and understanding its composition and dynamics.
  • Conducting experiments to test certain principles of general relativity and improve our understanding of gravity.