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BepiColombo spacecraft

The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo flight system combined ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), and JAXA's Mio Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter for the cruise to Mercury. ESA identifies four QinetiQ T6 gridded-ion thrusters in the MTM using xenon solar-electric propulsion; the MTM completed its final thrust arc and separated from the spacecraft stack on 3 September 2026, leaving the mission's Mercury-orbiter operations outside the cruise-module installation recorded here.

BepiColombo spacecraft
ESA / C. Carreau · CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO asset; the Wikimedia Commons file page identifies this exact pixel-matched BepiColombo spacecraft-stack photograph, credits ESA–C. Carreau, and records the original ESA source. Reuse is permitted under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO with appropriate attribution, a link to the license, indication of changes, and ShareAlike for adaptations; do not imply endorsement. ESA, JAXA, and other third-party marks or protected rights visible in the image may require separate clearance for some uses; verify before commercial, promotional, merchandise, or other uses beyond ordinary factual or editorial reuse. · Source
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Identity

Aliases
BepiColombo composite spacecraftBepiColombo flight system
Family Name
BepiColombo
Full Name
BepiColombo spacecraft
Roles
interplanetary_probeorbiterresearch
Status
active
Type
spacecraft

Details

Description
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo flight system combined ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), and JAXA's Mio Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter for the cruise to Mercury. ESA identifies four QinetiQ T6 gridded-ion thrusters in the MTM using xenon solar-electric propulsion; the MTM completed its final thrust arc and separated from the spacecraft stack on 3 September 2026, leaving the mission's Mercury-orbiter operations outside the cruise-module installation recorded here.
First Flight Year
2,018
Operator
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Count
      4
      Placement
      spacecraft
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      cruise
      Variant Notes
      Four QinetiQ T6 gridded-ion thrusters installed in the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), using xenon for solar-electric cruise propulsion.
    Name
    BepiColombo Mercury Transfer Module T6 solar-electric propulsion installation
    Notes
    ESA identifies four QinetiQ T6 ion thrusters in the Mercury Transfer Module using xenon solar-electric propulsion during the cruise to Mercury. The MTM completed its propulsion role and separated on 3 September 2026; this relationship records the historical cruise installation on the composite flight system and does not imply that the MTM remains attached.
Spacecraft Specs
Launch Mass
…
Reusability
expendable

Links

Official Url
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo/BepiColombo_factsheet

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 14, 2026 at 21:59:53 UTC
Updated Time
September 8, 2026 at 00:04:48 UTC
Image
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