The European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) joint mission, BepiColombo, has completed its sixth and final flyby of Mercury. The spacecraft captured breathtaking images of the planet’s surface, providing scientists with invaluable new information about Mercury’s little-explored world.
During its latest passage, BepiColombo came within 185 miles (295 kilometers) of Mercury’s nightside and flew over the planet’s north pole seven minutes later. The mission has given scientists a unique glimpse into Mercury’s dark craters and bright surface features.
One of the most striking images shows the rims of Prokofiev, Kandinsky, Tolkien, and Gordimer craters, along with their shadowy depths. These craters are of intense interest to scientists because they may contain evidence of water ice. The bottom of these craters is surprisingly cold, making them one of the coldest places in the solar system.
Despite Mercury’s proximity to the sun, its surface reflects only around two-thirds of the light reflected by the moon, making it surprisingly dark. This darkness can be attributed to the planet’s surface darkening with age due to the loss of volatiles. BepiColombo will investigate this phenomenon during its time in Mercury’s orbit.
The spacecraft also captured images of vast volcanic plains, including the Borealis Planitia, which lies to the left of Mercury’s north pole. This region was created by widespread lava eruptions around 3.7 billion years ago. The mission has revealed that these plains extend across a wide proportion of Mercury’s surface, with prominent features like the Mendelssohn crater.
One of the most unusual features in the new images is a boomerang-shaped lava flow above the Caloris basin. BepiColombo will collect data to determine if this lava moved into or out of the Caloris basin.
The BepiColombo mission has been a success, with the spacecraft performing two flyby campaigns back-to-back without any issues. The team is now looking forward to using the collected data to make new discoveries about Mercury’s surface and composition.
As one commenter noted, while the BepiColombo mission has provided incredible insights into Mercury’s surface, there is still a need for a lander to explore the planet in more detail.
Source: https://www.space.com/Mercury-top-three-images-BepiColombo-sixth-flyby