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The mercury transfer module from BepiColombo (MTM), currently on an ambitious mission on the best planet with a payload of two orbiters, sent us its first image of space.
The image was shared by the European Space Agency (ESA) this weekend and seems to be a bit of a selfie capturing parts of BepiColombo before scrutinizing the dark abyss. In the photo, one of its extended solar panels (right) and the layered insulation of one of its solar collectors (left). The Ariane 5 rocket carrying BepiColombo took off successfully Saturday.
"The transfer module is equipped with three surveillance cameras, which provide black and white snapshots with a resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels," said ESA. "The other two cameras will be activated tomorrow and should capture images of the medium and high gain antennas deployed on the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (DFO)."
BepiColombo still has a long way to go: seven years, to be exact. The joint ESA-Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission hopes to learn about one of the most disturbing planets in the solar system with BepiColombo's two orbiters, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). The MMO will study Mercury's magnetic field and its interactions with the Sun, while DFO will primarily be responsible for mapping and imaging Mercury. The two spacecraft carry 16 instruments that will contribute to the achievement of the scientific objectives of the mission.
"It contains a fantastic sequence of instruments," said Gizmodo this week Timothy Yeoman, professor of physics at the University of Leicester in the UK. "There is no compromise in the design of the mission."
This mission of 1.3 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars) is the first European mission on the planet. She will study Mercury's magnetic environment, its formation, its interior and composition, and much more. Each orbiter is led by its respective agency and has its own unique primary objectives in orbit. Jan Wörner, director general of ESA, said in a statement that "the mission will bring back a huge scientific wealth".
The long journey of BepiColombo will take him on a trajectory including "an overflight of the Earth, two of Venus and six of Mercury himself, in order to slow down before reaching his destination in December 2025," reported Saturday. Associated Press.
JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa said the agency had "high expectations" that the data collected by the orbiters "will help us better understand the planet's environment and, ultimately, the Origin of the solar system, including that of the Earth ".
Given that we are only seven years away, BepiColombo will surely take exciting pictures along the way.
[ESA, Associated Press]Source link
