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BepiColombo Begins Mercury Descent, Arrival Delayed to 2026

By Drooid · Sep 21, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

ESA and JAXA began BepiColombo’s descent toward Mercury.
The propulsion module separated on September 3, ending the joint ESA-JAXA mission phase.
A propulsion malfunction delayed arrival by nearly one year, moving the target date to 2026.
BepiColombo traveled about 6 billion miles using nine gravity-assist flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury.
The probe will split into a Mercury Planetary Orbiter and a Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, orbiting simultaneously.

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Story summary

ESA and JAXA began BepiColombo’s descent toward Mercury.
The propulsion module separated on September 3, ending the joint ESA-JAXA mission phase.
A propulsion malfunction delayed arrival by nearly one year, moving the target date to 2026.
BepiColombo traveled about 6 billion miles using nine gravity-assist flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury.
The probe will split into a Mercury Planetary Orbiter and a Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, orbiting simultaneously.