Earth as a pivot
Earth as a pivot
Schematic representation of BepiColombo's Earth flyby on 10 April 2020. The Moon's orbit is shown as a dotted line. At 02:27 on 10 April (all times CEST) [1], BepiColombo will pass through the bow shock of Earth's magnetic field, a transition zone between the magnetic field and space. At 03:14 [2], the spacecraft will cross the magnetopause, the boundary between space and the plasma surrounding Earth. At 03:44 [3], BepiColombo will still be nine Earth radii away, and will reach a distance of eight Earth radii at 04:05 (4). At 04:50 [5] it will enter Earth's magnetic field at a distance of six Earth radii. At 06:25:23 [6], BepiColombo will reach its point of closest approach, 12,677 kilometres from Earth. It will then begin its departure, leaving the magnetic field at 08:00 [7], passing eight Earth radii at 08:44 [8], and nine Earth radii at 09:06 [9]. The spacecraft will then traverse the magnetopause [10] and BepiColombo will leave the magnetically influenced zone around Earth at 00:08 on 11 April [11].
