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Maneuvers
The Mercury probe “BepiColombo” flew past Earth for the last time on Friday and is now headed for the smallest planet in the solar system. The European-Japanese spacecraft was approaching its home planet at 6.25 a.m. less than 12,700 kilometers.
This was followed by the most critical part of the maneuver: “BepiColombo” flew in the shadow of the earth for more than half an hour, and therefore depended solely on its batteries. “The spacecraft flew through the shadow of our home planet and did not receive direct sunlight for the first time since its launch,” said Elsa Montagnon, head of the “BepiColombo” flight control team at the European Space Agency ESA in Darmstadt , in the morning.
Shortly before the closest approach, the spacecraft took its last photos of the home planet. “The photos show the earth in space, in one of the most challenging moments in recent human history,” ESA said. The mission, which costs hundreds of millions of euros, is being led by experts at the ESOC control center in Darmstadt. However, due to the Corona crisis, only one fuselage team was in the control center on Friday.
Earth as brake
The mission launched in October 2018 is the first European mission on Mercury. According to a spokeswoman, ESA’s costs are only around € 1.5 billion. Two orbiters from Germany and Japan sit on the probe. After orbiting the probe around Mercury 2025, they must examine the magnetic field, the surface, or even the solar winds. The smallest planet closest to the sun so far has been little explored.
The reason for the Earth’s flight was the high speed of the probe. He was running towards Earth at 30 kilometers per second and was slowed down by the maneuver. It also flies past Venus twice and Mercury six times to accelerate the push. After around seven years of flight time and around nine billion kilometers traveled, “BepiColombo” will be at the destination of the trip in 2025 and orbit Mercury.
