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– For the third time in history, a mission is studying the deepest planet in our solar system.
The joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) BepiColombo and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was launched on Friday (19 October) for a seven-year trip into orbit around the planet Mercury. The mission's twin engine, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), as well as the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) built by ESA, were taken off at 21:45 . EDT (10:45 am local time or 20:45 GMT on October 20th) from Ariane Launch Complex 3 (ELA-3) at the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
"It's only the beginning of the trip, but it's already a great day," said Jan Wörner, general manager of ESA. "The launch of BepiColombo is an important milestone for ESA and JAXA and many successes will be forthcoming."
"JAXA is very hopeful that the resulting detailed observations on the surface and the interior of mercury will help us better understand the planet's environment and, ultimately, the origin of the solar system, including that of Earth, "said Hiroshi Yamakawa, president of JAXA. .
First mission of Europe and Japan to Mercury, following two previous missions to the United States, BepiColombo is the first mission to Mercury to send two spacecraft to carry out complementary measurements of the environment of the planet at the same time. The mission is named after the 20th century Italian mathematician and engineer Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo, who explained Mercury's rotation rate and calculated the trajectories that allowed the first overflights of the planet by NASA's Mariner 10 probe to mid-1970s.
Over the next seven years and 9 billion kilometers, BepiColombo will use solar electric propulsion and gravitational-assisted planetary overflights to orbit Mercury in December 2025. The mission will fly over the Earth in April 2020, two at Venus in October 2020 and August 2021, and fly over Mercury six times between October 2021 and January 2025.
During the voyage to Mercury, the two orbiters and the transfer module will form a single composite spacecraft. However, MPO and MMO orbiters will be able to use some of their scientific instruments during the cruise phase, which will also allow them to collect data from Venus.
Once in orbit around Mercury, the two BepiColombo satellites will build on the discoveries and issues raised by NASA's MESSENGER mission, which surrounded the planet from 2011 to 2015. ESA's DFO and MMO's JAXA (also known as "Mio", the Japanese as a waterway) or fairway) will better understand how evolve the planets close to their stars.
So close to the sun (the solar intensity of Mercury is about 10 times that of the Earth), it was necessary to develop new technologies and new materials, including high temperature coatings, multilayer insulation and a radiator for MPO. The MMO will turn 15 times per minute to prevent overheating (during the cruising phase, when it can not turn, the MMO will be protected by a sun visor).
As Mercury approaches the end of 2025, the transfer module will separate and the composite spacecraft will use rocket engines and a technique called "low stability border capture" to place it into orbit polar around the planet. When the MMO orbit is reached, DFO will separate and lower its altitude on its own orbit.
From March 2026, BepiColombo will collect data to form a complete map of mercury at different wavelengths. The ESA and JAXA probes will map the mineralogy and elemental composition of the planet, determine whether the interior of the planet is melted or not, and study the extent and extent of the planet. origin of the magnetic field of Mercury.
"One of the unique aspects of this mission is to simultaneously monitor the planet from two different locations: it's really essential to understand the processes related to the impact of the solar wind on the surface of Mercury and its magnetic environment, "said Johannes Benkhoff. , Scientist of the project BepiColombo of ESA.
"BepiColombo will support the findings and issues raised by NASA's MESSENGER mission to provide the best possible understanding of the evolution of mercury and the solar system to date, which will be critical to understanding how planets orbiting their stars in exoplanet systems are forming and evolving, too, "said Benkhoff.
Observations from Mercury's orbit will continue for at least one Earth year with the possibility of expansion. Mercury rotates on its axis once every 58 days and rotates around the Sun once every 88 days.
Before BepiColombo, only NASA's Mariner 10 and MESSENGER ships had visited Mercury. Mariner 10 provided the very first images of the planet closely when she flew over Mercury three times in 1974 and 1975. On her way to her final destination in orbit around Mercury in 2011, MESSENGER flew three times over the planet, providing new data. and images.
A European mission to Mercure was first proposed in 1993. In February 2007, the BepiColombo mission was approved under ESA's Cosmic Vision program. Following an inevitable increase in the mass of the mission in 2008, the launcher was replaced by the Russian Soyuz-Fregat rocket with the Ariane 5 rocket.
BepiColombo is the 51st mission carried out by Arianespace (with the 73rd satellite) for ESA and the 23rd mission at the service of deep space exploration.
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