BepiColombo sheds its ride and starts the final glide to Mercury - theregister.com
The BepiColombo spacecraft has successfully separated from its transfer module as it nears its final destination, Mercury. The mission, a collaboration between ESA and JAXA, is scheduled to enter orbit in November.
Why it matters
This mission represents a major milestone in international space exploration and planetary science research.
Eight year after launch, Mercury probe and its Mercury Transfer Module consciously uncouple as orbit approaches
After nearly eight years, ESA and JAXA's BepiColombo spacecraft is finally nearing Mercury, as engineers begin the arrival sequence by jettisoning the power module that got it this far.
The spacecraft stack separated from the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) on September 3 at around 1400 CEST. After a tense few minutes, controllers confirmed that a preliminary Doppler signal had been detected, indicating that the MTM had separated successfully; by 1552 CEST, it was confirmed that signals had been picked up, indicating that all had gone to plan. The solar panels of the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) were charging the spacecraft's batteries.
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