BepiColombo
BEPICOLOMBO
The home of interesting BepiColombo facts for kids and adults.
The BepiColombo Factfile
| Bepicolombo | |
|---|---|
| Launch Date | 20th October 2018, 01:45 UTC |
| Launch Site | Kourou, French Guiana |
| Mission Destination | Mercury |
| Cruise Length To Destination | Approximately 7.2 years to reach Mercury |
| Estimated Date Of Arrival | Late 2025 |
| Mission Length | 1 year in Mercury orbit after arrival |
| Launch Vehicle | Ariane 5 |
| Launch Mass | 4100 kg, 4.03 Tonne |
| Mission Spacecraft | Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), Mercury Magneospheric Orbiter (Mio) |
| Mission Coleadership | BepiColombo is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), it is being executed under ESA leadership. |
| Ground Control Until Launch | European Space Operations Center (ESOC) Based in Darmstadt, Germany |
| Mio Orbit Ground Control | ISAS/JAXA Sagamilhara Space Operation Center, Japan |
| MPO Ground Control | European Space Operations Center (ESOC) Based in Darmstadt, Germany |
| Science Operations | European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) Villafrance, Spain |
4 Facts about BepiColombo you didn't know.
1. Named after an Italian Professor
BepiColombo is named after Professor Guiseppe Colombo, nick named Bepi. He lived between 1920-1984. He taught at the University of Pauda, Italy. Some of his recognitions are:
- He was the first to see that an unexpected Resonance is responsible for Mercury's habit of rotating on its axis three times for every two revolutions it makes around the Sun
- He suggested to NASA how to use a gravity assist swing-by of Venus to place the Mariner 10 spacecraft in a solar orbit that would allow it to fly by Mercury three times in 1974 to 1975.
Did you know?
The ESA have named other space missions after scientists, artists and astronomers. These include Hipparcos, Giotto and Schiaparelli.
2. First European mission to Mercury
The ESA have cooperated with NASA to visit or flyby planets in our solar system.
- Ulysses, 6th October, 1990, J
- Cassini, Huyguns 15th October 1997
Did you know?
The first mission by the ESA was a Gamma-ray space observatory mission organised by the European Space Research Organisation, a precursor to the ESA. This launched in 1975.
3. Estimated cost of BepiColombo
The total estimated cost of the BepiColombo mission is estimated at 650million Euros. That equates to 591 million Pounds and 762 million US Dollars.
Did you know?
NASA suggests it costs an average of $450 million USD to launch a space shuttle. This equates to 383 million Euros and 348 million pounds.
4. A third spacecraft was cancelled.
A third spacecraft named The Mercury Surface Element (MSE) was planned on the mission. It was cancelled due to budgetary constraints. This spacecraft was planned to land on Mercury and contain a camera, heat flow package, x-ray spectronometer, magnetometer, seismometer, mole (soil penetrating device) and a micro rover.
Did you know?
There has only been one spacecraft land on Mercury. The MESSENGER intentionally crashed at the end of its mission on 30th April 2015.
