Developed in partnership with Japan, BepiColumbo is scheduled to launch in August 2013, and will arrive 6 years later. The mission actually consists of two spacecraft: an orbiter for planetary studies, and another for magnetospheric studies.
The Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) will be developed by ESA, while the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) will be created by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). A single vehicle will carry both to Mercury.
After their scientific missions wrap up, the two spacecraft will provide the most detailed study of Mercury ever performed.
Original Source: ESA News Release
Recent Posts
M87 Releases a Rare and Powerful Outburts of Gamma-ray Radiation
In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration made history when it released the first-ever…
Astronomers Find a Black Hole Tipped Over on its Side
Almost every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole churning away at its core. In…
NASA is Developing Solutions for Lunar Housekeeping’s Biggest Problem: Dust!
Through the Artemis Program, NASA will send the first astronauts to the Moon since the…
Where’s the Most Promising Place to Find Martian Life?
New research suggests that our best hopes for finding existing life on Mars isn’t on…
Can Entangled Particles Communicate Faster than Light?
Entanglement is perhaps one of the most confusing aspects of quantum mechanics. On its surface,…
IceCube Just Spent 10 Years Searching for Dark Matter
Neutrinos are tricky little blighters that are hard to observe. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory in…