BepiColombo’s Third Flyby Offers a Close-up of Our Solar System’s Nearest Neighbor

Despite its prominence in pop culture, Mercury, the closest planet to our Sun, has received relatively little attention in the realm of space exploration. To date, only two NASA missions have ventured to this diminutive planet. However, a collaborative effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) known as BepiColombo is now granting us unprecedented glimpses of this first planet in our solar system. Recently, three captivating images have been captured, showcasing Mercury in astonishing detail.

Although these images are rendered in black and white and are relatively small compared to the grandiose visuals typically obtained by spacecraft like the James Webb Space Telescope, they contribute significantly to the primary objective behind JAXA and ESA’s joint venture with BepiColombo: the study of Mercury and the pursuit of answers to the enigma of its shrinking nature.

While several plausible explanations exist for this phenomenon, the prevailing hypothesis suggests that the planet’s core is gradually cooling, causing the outer crust to contract inward. By generating advanced maps of Mercury’s surface, the BepiColombo probe aims to shed light not only on the rate at which this planetary shrinkage occurs but also on the underlying mechanisms driving this process. These meticulously crafted maps hold the potential to deepen our understanding of Mercury’s evolution.

Just prior to embarking on the next phase of its expedition, the spacecraft responsible for the recent flyby and image capture of Mercury faces an especially formidable challenge, according to the ESA. This upcoming sequence entails a heavy reliance on solar electric propulsion and the execution of thrust arcs to counter the Sun’s gravitational pull. Mercury’s close proximity to the Sun has posed significant difficulties for studying the planet due to the intense glare and heat emanating from our star, which probes in this vicinity must contend with.

Although the BepiColombo mission has achieved notable success thus far, and the Parker Solar Probe continues to set records as it ventures closer to the Sun, surviving the extreme radiation and glare remains a formidable task. The ESA anticipates that the frequency and duration of these thrust arcs will increase as the probe progresses on its journey. The ultimate objective is to release the ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and the JAXA Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter modules into orbit around this primary celestial body in our solar system.

The commencement of the main mission is not anticipated until early 2026. For now, we can find solace in these captivating and evocative images of Mercury captured during yet another successful flyby, marking the third out of six planned.