The BepiColombo mission, a joint initiative of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is approaching Mercury after almost eight years of space travel and thousands of millions of kilometres travelled. ESA confirmed the successful separation of the Mercury Transfer Module, one of the most delicate stages of the mission.
After separation, the two mission orbiters are prepared for the next phase of the journey. The Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), called Mio, will now continue their trajectory to the planet, which is the smallest rocky planet in the Solar System.
The first approach to Mercury is scheduled for November 21. However, the definitive arrival requires several months of especially complex operations before the two orbiters can begin their scientific observations of the planet.
