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 successfully separated on September 3, 2026; Mercury orbit insertion is planned for 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 successfully separated on September 3, 2026; Mercury orbit insertion is planned for November 21, deployment of Mio in December, and the start of routine science operations in April 2027.
- Destination
- En route to Mercury for planned dual-orbiter insertion on 21 November 2026 and early-2027 science operations, studying the planet’s interior, composition, surface, exosphere, magnetic field, and magnetosphere with ESA’s MPO and JAXA’s Mio
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Successful cruise and arrival phase underway. BepiColombo completed its eight-year cruise, including nine planetary flybys and final solar-electric-propulsion shutdown on 15 June 2026, then successfully separated its Mercury Transfer Module on 3 September 2026 to begin the Mercury arrival sequence. The mission is preparing for Mercury orbit insertion on 21 November 2026, Mio separation in December, and science operations from April 2027.
- Programs
- 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
- Updated Time
- September 8, 2026 at 09:27:26 UTC
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Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles