[ad_1]
BepiColombo, the first European space mission aboard Mercury, has successfully taken off to the smallest planet and closest to the Sun of our solar system, in order to decipher its many unknowns.
The transfer module and the two orbiters, one developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the other by its Japanese counterpart, JAXA, with whom the project is jointly launched, have left the Kurú Space Center in French Guyana , 01:45 GMT this Saturday (22:45 local time on Friday).
The launch on board an Ariane 5 rocket was on schedule and the launch phase was completed 26 minutes and 47 seconds later.
Now begins a journey of seven years and two months until the satellite is placed in the orbit of Mercury, where its scientific operations will begin in March 2026 and will develop for a year, and may be extended to other.
The joint work of the two orbiters will study the origin and evolution of the planet, its composition, its exosphere and its magnetosphere, and will complete the work done by the only two ships that have visited it to date.
Mariner 10 flew over and presented his first close-up photographs taken between 1974 and 1975, while Messenger, also an American, flew over in 2008 and 2009 and was the first to put it into orbit, between 2011 and 2015.
These missions provided answers, but they also raised new questions. BepiColombo will seek to confirm the existence of the ice, to explain the contraction of the interior of the planet or to explain why its magnetic field is located 400 km from its center.
ESA, whose teams applauded today are delighted by this successful start, is convinced that the best knowledge of a planet as close to its progenitor star also reveals new data on the general evolution of our solar system.
BepiColombo, third mission to Mercurio
BepiColombo, the mission with which the European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with Japanese JAXA, goes to Mercury, is the third planet on the planet's most unknown solar system, after the Mariner-10 and Messenger , both from NASA.
Here are the most important dates of the three missions on the planet Mercury:
– 1974.- First mission to Mercury. The American spacecraft Mariner-10 (NASA) in its dual mission with Venus and Mercury revolves around this planet three times between 1974 and 1975; transmits cards of more than half of it and detects a light atmosphere and a weak magnetic field.
– August 3, 2004.- Second mission to Mercury. The Messenger probe, which stands for NASA's Mercury Surface, Space, Geochemistry and Ranging mission, is traveling to Mercury to investigate the planet closest to the Sun.
In its trajectory, and before a permanent orbit of Mercury in 2011, it comprised 15 rounds around the Sun, an approach of the Earth, two of Venus and three of Mercury, including two in 2008 and one in 2009.
In its two approximations, the probe transmitted some 1,200 photographs and data on the internal magnetic field, the magnetosphere and the topography of the planet.
– 2007.- Third mission to Mercury. The European Space Agency (ESA) approves the "BepiColombo" mission of mercury exploration in collaboration with the Japanese space agency JAXA.
– March 18, 2011. – The Messenger enters the orbit of Mercury and, four years later, on April 30, 2015, after being acquitted of his mission, he crashed against the surface of the planet.
Among his historical discoveries, the Messegner determined the composition of Mercury's surface, revealed its geological history, discovered that its internal magnetic field was deviated from the center of the planet and certified that its polar deposits were primarily water ice.
– October 2018.- After several delays, ESA and JAXA launched the space probe BepiColombo, the first European on the most unknown planet and close to the Sun.
His name comes from Italian teacher Giuseppe & # 39; Beppi & # 39; Colombo, who played a leading role in NASA's Mariner-10 mission.
The BepiColombi mission will last seven and a half years and will consist of photographing and analyzing the Mercury magnetosphere, its internal structure and the generation of the magnetic field, as well as the chemical phenomena of the surface.
With EFE information.
LLH
[ad_2]
Source link
