BepiColombo on Final Approach: 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 near 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 early September 2026, the Mercury Transfer Module will have detached from the mission’s two orbiters. At the time of this meeting, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio) are travelling towards Mercury and will together enter orbit about the planet in late November. These two orbiters will separate from each other on 9-10 December. MPO will adjust its orbit until reaching its final science orbit in March 2027. 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, and a broad overview of scientific results to date.