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Mercury Planetary Orbiter at the Spaceport

Mercury Planetary Orbiter at the Spaceport


Date: 19 June 2018
Satellite: BepiColombo
Depicts: Mercury Planetary Orbiter
Location: Kourou, French Guiana
Copyright: ESA - S. Corvaja

The Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) of the BepiColombo mission during launch preparations at Europe's Spaceport.

The ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission consists of two science orbiters – the Japanese Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) and ESA's MPO – and the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), which will use solar electric propulsion to take the two orbiters to the Mercury, along with gravity assist flybys at Earth, Venus and Mercury itself.

The spacecraft is covered in hand-sewn insulation blankets that will protect it from the extreme thermal conditions it will experience during the mission.

Last Update: 1 September 2019
5-Dec-2024 10:52 UT

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