BepiColombo Approaches Mercury: A Mission Update

BepiColombo is a joint mission to Mercury between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), launched in October 2018. It is now nearing the end of its eight-year-long cruise to the planet, during which it encountered the Earth and Venus, and performed six flybys of Mercury. In September 2026, the Mercury Transfer Module will detach from the mission’s two orbiters. The Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio) will together enter Mercury orbit in late November, and these two orbiters will separate from each other in December. MPO will adjust its orbit until reaching its final science orbit in March 2027. Less then a year from now, in April 2027, both orbiters will begin their joint comprehensive exploration of planet Mercury and its environment with their extremely capable payload suites. We shall provide an overview of the two orbiters and their instruments, a summary of the mission status, a preview of the remaining plans for the mission up to and after arrival in orbit around Mercury, and a broad overview of scientific results to date.