BepiColombo’s seven-year journey to Mercury
BepiColombo’s seven-year journey to Mercury
Spaceflight from Earth to the inner Solar System is extremely difficult because of the Sun's immense gravitational pull. The European-Japanese mission BepiColombo will take seven years to complete its journey. Over the years, and by means of several close flybys of Earth and Venus (twice), the spacecraft will first be slowed down and then, flying by Mercury itself six times, will be guided into an orbit around the Sun that increasingly approaches Mercury's own orbit. Finally, BepiColombo will be steered into an orbit around Mercury on 5 December 2025.
