Spacecraft bound for Mercury begins 'tricky' arrival
- CAPE CANAVERAL: After an eight-year journey, a spacecraft carrying European and Japanese probes began the months-long, high-risk approach to Mercury on Thursday (Sep 3) to study the Sun-scorched planet.
- The BepiColombo mission set off from Earth in 2018 on a winding path to study the smallest and least understood planet in our Solar System with the aim of releasing the two probes into its orbit.
- On Thursday, it began its arrival phase, described by the European Space Agency (ESA) as its "most operationally challenging planetary arrival sequences ever attempted".
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- CAPE CANAVERAL: After an eight-year journey, a spacecraft carrying European and Japanese probes began the months-long, high-risk approach to Mercury on Thursday (Sep 3) to study the Sun-scorched planet.
- The BepiColombo mission set off from Earth in 2018 on a winding path to study the smallest and least understood planet in our Solar System with the aim of releasing the two probes into its orbit.
- On Thursday, it began its arrival phase, described by the European Space Agency (ESA) as its "most operationally challenging planetary arrival sequences ever attempted".
Sources: CNA