The European probe that captured stunning up-close views of planet Mercury during a brief flyby:
- The probe is called BepiColombo, and it is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
- BepiColombo launched in October 2018, and it is currently on its way to Mercury.
- The probe made its first close flyby of Mercury on October 1, 2021, passing within 199 kilometers of the planet’s surface.
- During the flyby, BepiColombo captured stunning images of Mercury’s cratered surface.
- The images revealed new details about Mercury’s surface, including its age and composition.
- BepiColombo is scheduled to enter orbit around Mercury in 2025.
Here are some of the stunning images that BepiColombo captured during its flyby of Mercury:
- A cratered region called Caloris Planitia, which is the largest impact basin in the Solar System.
- A region of cliffs and valleys called the Rachmaninoff Regio.
- A region of smooth plains called the Sobkou Planitia.
- A region of mountains called the Montes Selenium.
The images captured by BepiColombo are providing scientists with new insights into the history and formation of Mercury. These insights will help scientists to better understand the evolution of the Solar System as a whole.