The European Space Agency’s BepiColombo mission is now on its final approach to Mercury, according to Ars Technica. The two spacecraft that make up the mission have spent roughly eight years traveling through the inner solar system and are beginning their arrival sequence at the planet.
BepiColombo launched in 2018 as a joint European-Japanese effort to study Mercury up close. The mission consists of two orbiters that will separate once they reach their destination, allowing each to focus on different aspects of the planet’s composition, magnetic field, and surface. Ars Technica reports that the spacecraft pair has now entered the final phase of their voyage, with arrival operations underway.
The mission has faced a long and circuitous route to Mercury, using multiple gravity assists from Earth, Venus, and Mercury itself to slow down enough to enter orbit. Mercury is notoriously difficult to reach because of the sun’s strong gravitational pull, which requires spacecraft to shed significant velocity. According to Ars Technica, the final approach marks the culmination of that decade-long effort.
