Bepicolombo captures haunting images of Mercury bruised by the Sun

New Delhi,UPDATED: Dec 4, 2024 12:27 IST

The BepiColombo spacecraft has captured stunning images of Mercury as it sped past the planet at nearly 3 kilometers per second during its latest flyby.

This remarkable event occurred on December 1, 2024, when the spacecraft was approximately 48,000 to 53,700 kilometers from Mercury's surface.

The time-lapse sequence of unprocessed images showcases the planet's cratered landscape, highlighting the stark contrasts between its sunlit and shadowed sides.

This flyby marks the fifth of six planned encounters with Mercury as part of BepiColombo's mission to study the solar system's innermost planet. The spacecraft's selfie-cameras, designed primarily for monitoring its own systems, provided a unique perspective of Mercury as it transitioned from darkness into sunlight.

The images reveal a haunting view of this rocky world, often referred to as the "Problem Child of the Solar System" due to its extreme conditions and complex geological history.

BepiColombo’s mission is a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

It aims to gather critical data about Mercury’s surface composition, magnetic field, and exosphere. During this flyby, the spacecraft also utilized its Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (MERTIS) instrument to analyze the planet's temperature and mineral composition.

The data collected during these flybys not only enhances our understanding of Mercury but also prepares the spacecraft for its eventual insertion into orbit around the planet, scheduled for November 2026.

As BepiColombo continues its journey, anticipation grows for the groundbreaking discoveries that await during its primary science phase, promising to unlock the mysteries of one of our solar system's least-explored worlds.