BepiColombo - Mission Overview and Science Goals

• DOI: 10.1007/s11214-021-00861-4
• Publication Date: 2021-12-08T12:04:45Z
• Authors: J. Benkhoff; G. Murakami; W. Baumjohann; S. Besse; E. Bunce; M. Casale; G. Cremosese; K.-H. Glassmeier; H. Hayakawa; D. Heyner; H. Hiesinger; J. Huovelin; H. Hussmann; V. Iafolla; L. Iess; Y. Kasaba; M. Kobayashi; A. Milillo; I. G. Mitrofanov; E. Montagnon; M. Novara; S. Orsini; E. Quemerais; U. Reininghaus; Y. Saito; F. Santoli; D. Stramaccioni; O. Sutherland; N. Thomas; I. Yoshikawa; J. Zender
• Keywords: Orbiter; Payload (computing); Planetary science; Exosphere

Abstract BepiColombo is a joint mission between the European Space Agency, ESA, and Japanese Aerospace Exploration JAXA, to perform comprehensive exploration of Mercury. Launched on $20^{\mathrm{th}}$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>20</mml:mn> <mml:mi>th</mml:mi> </mml:msup> </mml:math> October 2018 from spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, spacecraft now en route Two orbiters have been sent Mercury will be put into dedicated, polar orbits around planet study its environment. One orbiter, Mio, provided by one MPO, ESA. The scientific payload both provide detailed information necessary understand origin evolution itself surrounding closest Sun, only terrestrial besides Earth with self-sustained magnetic field, smallest our Solar System. It key for understanding evolutionary history System therefore also question how Planetary were formed. objectives focus global characterization through investigation interior, surface, exosphere, magnetosphere. In addition, instrumentation onboard used test Einstein’s theory general relativity. Major effort was optimizing return defining such that individual measurements can interrelated complement each other.