BepiColombo
BepiColombo is a joint ESA/JAXA mission to investigate Mercury with ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA's Mio Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter. Launched on Ariane 5 flight VA245 on October 20, 2018, the composite spacecraft used one Earth, two Venus, and six Mercury flybys plus solar-electric propulsion to reach the planet. The Mercury Transfer Module is scheduled to separate on September 3, 2026, followed by Mercury orbit insertion on November 21, deployment of Mio in December, and the start of routine science operations in April 2027.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Bepi Colombo
- Name
- BepiColombo
- Status
- active
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- BepiColombo is a joint ESA/JAXA mission to investigate Mercury with ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA's Mio Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter. Launched on Ariane 5 flight VA245 on October 20, 2018, the composite spacecraft used one Earth, two Venus, and six Mercury flybys plus solar-electric propulsion to reach the planet. The Mercury Transfer Module is scheduled to separate on September 3, 2026, followed by Mercury orbit insertion on November 21, deployment of Mio in December, and the start of routine science operations in April 2027.
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- In transit; Mercury orbit insertion is scheduled for 21 November 2026, with routine science operations planned to begin in April 2027.
- Start Date
- 2018-10-20
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Wikipedia Url
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BepiColombo
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- April 26, 2026 at 14:18:56 UTC
- Image
- Download
- Updated Time
- July 29, 2026 at 08:53:07 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Programs
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles