Rare photos from space: a space probe takes the first pictures of Mercury

The most difficult mission in the history of the European Space Agency removed another hurdle: it also provided the first images of the planet Mercury.

Kassel – the smallest, fastest and first in the solar system: the planet Mercury. An ESA mission has been on its way to the sun’s closest planet in our solar system three years ago.

Now the space probe has sent the first pictures. The probe, named “BepiColombo”, is the third mission that has ever made it near Mercury. The other two missions went from US space agency NASA the end.

Images from space – “BepiColombo” is ESA’s most complex project to date

For scientists at the European Space Agency, the mission is one of the most complex to date. The Sun’s high gravity makes conditions for flight in the orbit of Mercury difficult. “BepiColombo” must be slowed early to enter Mercury’s orbit. A total of nine flights are necessary for this.

The probe has already mastered three before the current probe. One of them passed through the earth, and the other two passed through it The neighboring planet Mercury, VenusIn the current flight, the probe flew past Mercury itself for the first time. Despite the difficult conditions, it was possible to take the first pictures of the smallest planet in the solar system.

Space: The first shots succeed despite the difficult circumstances

After investigating the August 10, 2021 in Venus It flew near Mercury on October 1, 2021 at about 11:44 p.m. at an altitude of 199 meters. “BepiColombo” took black-and-white images of Mercury’s northern hemisphere, according to the European Space Agency. However, the probe’s high-resolution camera was covered in flight, so the images were recorded by two surveillance cameras. Since the first flight was at night, conditions for recordings were difficult.

The goal of each mission: to explore the history of the planet and the solar system

The surface of Mercury is very reminiscent of the surface of the Moon. Through the research, scientists want to learn more about the origin and evolution of Mercury. The history of the youngest planet dates back about 4.6 billion years. One way here is to map the planet’s surface, with the space probe “BepiColombo” bringing two so-called orbiters (satellites) into the orbit of Mercury.

However, this will not be the case until 2025. The European Space Agency announced that the satellites will explore the magnetic, plasma and particle environment of the planet. The project, with a total size of €2 billion, aims to help understand the origins of our solar system. The European Space Agency is leading the mission in collaboration with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Japan Space Research Agency). Celestial body scans are scheduled for December 2025.

Space mission: On the birthday of the same name

The time of the first flyby of Mercury falls on the birthday of the probe of the same name. On October 2, 2021, Giuseppe “Pepe” Colombo would have turned 110. The Italian scientist and engineer discovered that the gravity of the planets could help the trajectory of a space probe. If the point of flight is chosen carefully, it can help the spacecraft to make more flights.

This alleged maneuver was first performed by NASA using the Mariner 10 probe. Launched in 1973 and passing Mercury on March 29, 1974 after a flyby of Venus, “BepiColombo” also uses gravity support as well as a solar-electric propulsion system. Anyone interested in a flight Space probe “BepiColombo” Interested, can follow her on Twitter. (Lucas Mayer) * hna.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

Address list image: © CHROMORANGE / Knut Niehus via www.imago-images.de