The European Space Agency (ESA) has highlighted that its joint space mission with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa), BepiColombo, will make its first flyby of the planet Mercury in the early hours of Saturday morning, South African (and Central European) time. Saturday (October 2) will also be the 101st anniversary of the birth of the Italian scientist after whom the mission is named, Giuseppe ‘Bepi’ Colombo (1920-1984). The BepiColombo mission is focused on studying Mercury, and this flyby will be the first of six of the planet closest to our Sun. These flybys will both adjust the spacecraft’s trajectory and help decelerate it, so that it can enter the orbit of Mercury with the minimum expenditure of fuel. BepiColombo, which is equipped with solar electric propulsion, is programmed to enter planetary orbit in 2025.
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