General · 1 hour ago
Spacecraft begin arrival at Mercury after eight-year journey
The BepiColombo mission, undertaken collaboratively by the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, represents the third expedition dispatched to investigate Mercury. Following an eight-year transit, the module providing power for the mission detached on 3 September, separating from two data-gathering spacecraft. These spacecraft, ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, will start collecting scientific data in April 2027.
Reported by smithsonianmag.com · How we write briefs