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BepiColombo @BepiColombo

Europe's mission to Mercury, in cooperation with Japan. Arriving 2026 at the smallest and least explored terrestrial planet in our Solar System.

Joined October 2012
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Our @ESA_Bepi Mercury Planetary Orbiter's mission has been approved by @ESA's Member States for an extension to the end of 2029. We look forward to learning even more about Mercury and its surroundings over the coming years! esa.int/Science_Exploration/…

ESA science missions get green light for new discoveries

On 10–11 June, representatives from European Space Agency (ESA) Member States met in Tenerife to make far-reaching decisions about the future of ESA’s Science Programme. Their decisions to extend...

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Our mission's Science Working Team had a highly productive meeting in Sapporo, Japan, last week, gearing up for the joint arrival of the @JAXA_MMO Mio and @esascience @ESA_Bepi MPO spacecraft at Mercury later this year! #bepicolombo 🛰️🛰️
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It's one year until we reach Mercury to stay! Follow this link to catch up with what we've been up to during our trip to this fascinating little planet! 🙂#bepicolombo
ESA Science
@esascience
21 Nov 2025
7️⃣years in space 9️⃣flights past 3️⃣planets 1️⃣ year to go until @BepiColombo arrives at Mercury! 🫡 🤓Rest assured, we’ve made the most of the mission’s winding journey to its destination 👉 esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
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🤔In space, no one can hear you... make an orbit-bending flyby of Mercury. So BepiColombo recorded its vibrations and turned them into sounds
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More info & credits: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Video…

The sounds of BepiColombo's sixth flight past Mercury

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📽️Sit down, relax and enjoy #BepiColombo’s views as it moved gracefully around Mercury on 7-8 January 2025. 🎼🎶Playing in the background is The Hebrides overture by Felix Mendelssohn - can you guess why?
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ℹ️More info and credits: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Video…

BepiColombo's sixth Mercury flyby: the movie

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Our top three images from the sixth Mercury flyby are here! 🌗 See what they reveal about the mysterious planet here 👉 esa.int/Science_Exploration/… and in 🧵👇
Image taken by BepiColombo during its sixth Mercury flyby. Planet Mercury is visible in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts.

ALT Image taken by BepiColombo during its sixth Mercury flyby. Planet Mercury is visible in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts.

Image taken by BepiColombo during its sixth Mercury flyby. Planet Mercury is visible in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts.

ALT Image taken by BepiColombo during its sixth Mercury flyby. Planet Mercury is visible in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts.

Image taken by BepiColombo during its sixth Mercury flyby. Planet Mercury is visible in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts.

ALT Image taken by BepiColombo during its sixth Mercury flyby. Planet Mercury is visible in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts.

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Mercury's sunlit north viewed by M-CAM 1 This image shows that large regions of Mercury's heavily cratered surface are smoothed over by lava from volcanic eruptions. This smoothing is visible inside the 290 km-wide crater at the right of the image, called Mendelssohn. The vast plains surrounding it are called Borealis Planitia. The 1,500 km-diameter Caloris basin appears in the lower left portion of the globe. This is Mercury's largest well-preserved impact structure, and one of the largest in the Solar System. The foreground of the image shows #BepiColombo's solar array (centre right), and a part of the Mercury Transfer Module (lower left).
Planet Mercury in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts. Features are marked with yellow circles and text labels.

ALT Planet Mercury in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts. Features are marked with yellow circles and text labels.

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Lava and debris brighten Mercury's surface The bright patch near the planet's upper edge in this image taken by M-CAM 2 is the Nathair Facula, the aftermath of the largest volcanic explosion on Mercury. This is a major target for several #BepiColombo instruments. Measuring the composition of the erupted material will tell us what Mercury is made of, and how the planet formed. The relatively young Fonteyn crater is also visible. Its youth is apparent from the brightness of the impact debris that radiates out from it. Rustaveli, seen roughly in the centre of Mercury, is a so-called peak ring basin. In the foreground, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter’s medium gain antenna (top centre) and magnetometer boom (right) are visible.
Planet Mercury in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts. Features are marked with yellow circles and text labels.

ALT Planet Mercury in the background with its grey, cratered, pock-marked surface. In the foreground are some spacecraft parts. Features are marked with yellow circles and text labels.

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Stay tuned!
Josef Aschbacher
@AschbacherJosef
8 Jan 2025
I will unveil the new images of Mercury tomorrow morning as part of my Annual Press Briefing. Follow along live from 10:00 CET on esawebtv.esa.int
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On 8 January, at 06:59 CET, Bepi, Mio and MTM got as close as 295 km to Mercury’s surface. This sixth flyby is the last time the #BepiColombo trio greet the planet together 👉 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
Cartoon representation of the three elements of the BepiColombo mission: ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter (shown in blue, middle), JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (red, top) and the ESA-built Mercury Transfer Module (grey, bottom), respectively. The Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter holds a clipboard with all the six flyby dates marked as checked. Left unchecked is the arrival date on 21 November 2026. In the background, planet Mercury greets them with a yellow balloon shaped as number six.

ALT Cartoon representation of the three elements of the BepiColombo mission: ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter (shown in blue, middle), JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (red, top) and the ESA-built Mercury Transfer Module (grey, bottom), respectively. The Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter holds a clipboard with all the six flyby dates marked as checked. Left unchecked is the arrival date on 21 November 2026. In the background, planet Mercury greets them with a yellow balloon shaped as number six.
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Images and other scientific data from this morning's close approach to Mercury by #bepicolombo are safely on the ground! We'll be sharing images from the closest approach tomorrow.
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Here's an image taken 5.5 hours before closest approach, when #bepicolombo was 44950 km from Mercury's southern hemisphere. The planet is at the bottom of the picture, below two of the spacecraft's booms.
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BepiColombo is reaching its closest approach to Mercury now during its sixth encounter with the planet. It's 06:58:52 CET, and the spacecraft is 295km from the surface. #bepicolombo
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BepiColombo's sixth flyby of Mercury (this Wednesday) will be its last. But fear not! In 2026, the mission will enter into orbit around the little planet and stay for good 🤗 🖼️Alex Luktus
JB@JBenkhoff
6 Jan 2025
Final flyby at Mercury is upcoming on Wednesday. Next time: "Wir kommen um zu bleiben" - How would you phrase it in your language?
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🛰️🌑We're gearing up for BepiColombo's sixth Mercury flyby, coming up this Wednesday! ℹ️Closest approach is 295 km at 06:59 CET We'll investigate Mercury's cold night side, north pole craters, and the vast northern plains 👇esa.int/Science_Exploration/…

BepiColombo to swing by Mercury for the sixth time

On 8 January 2025, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission will fly just 295 km above Mercury's surface, with a closest approach scheduled for 06:59 CET (05:59 UTC). It will use this opportunity to photog...

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BepiColombo retweeted
ESA Science
@esascience
9 Dec 2024
Last week, @BepiColombo became the first spacecraft to image planet Mercury in mid-infrared light 🔥 Using @MERTISonBepi, the mission will uncover what Mercury's surface is made of 👇 esa.int/Science_Exploration/…

BepiColombo reveals Mercury in a new light

On 1 December 2024, BepiColombo flew past Mercury for the fifth time. During this flyby, BepiColombo became the first spacecraft ever to observe Mercury in mid-infrared light. The new images reveal...

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