BepiColombo images high-gain antenna
Date: 21 October 2018
Satellite: BepiColombo
Depicts: MPO high-gain antenna
Copyright: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The BepiColombo Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) has returned its first image of the deployed high-gain antenna onboard the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO). The actual deployment took place earlier today, and was confirmed by telemetry.
The back side of the high-gain antenna is clearly seen at the top of the image. The side of the MPO with the low-gain antenna, which protrudes from the side of the module, is also visible, together with some detail of the MPO's multi-layered insulation. One of the hold-down release mechanisms of the MTM solar array is also seen between the antenna and the MPO. The dark outline in the top left corresponds to the inside of the MTM where the camera sits and looks out into space. A section of one of the solar arrays of the MTM is seen at the bottom of the image, together with a hold-down bracket on the yoke.
The transfer module is equipped with three monitoring cameras, which provide black-and-white snapshots in 1024 × 1024 pixel resolution. This image was taken by the M-CAM 3 camera (click here to see the location and field of view of all three monitoring cameras).
The monitoring cameras will be used on various occasions during the cruise phase, notably during the flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury. While the MPO is equipped with a high-resolution scientific camera, this can only be operated after separating from the MTM upon arrival at Mercury in late 2025 because, like several of the 11 instrument suites, it is located on the side of the spacecraft fixed to the MTM during cruise.
BepiColombo launched at 01:45 GMT on 20 October on an Ariane 5. BepiColombo is a joint endeavour between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. It is the first European mission to Mercury, the smallest and least explored planet in the inner Solar System, and the first to send two spacecraft to make complementary measurements of the planet and its dynamic environment at the same time.
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