BepiColombo, a joint European-Japanese mission, is to explore from orbit on Wednesday. But in December 2025 it will fly five more times in orbit around the planet.
These maneuvers can be used to brake fuel-efficient. With each fly, Pepicolombo releases orbital energy to Mercury – thus slowing it down a bit. In four years the probe will have the same speed as the planet and will be captured by Mercury.
It’s like jumping on a moving tram: it works better at almost the same speed.
Incorrect color image of the inner planet Mercury (NASA / Messenger study)
To brake adequately without natural assistance, the probe would require tons of extra fuel – and then the whole work would be too expensive.
The Italian mathematician Giuseppe, also known as Pepi, Colombo, came up with the idea for this “gravity aid” method in the 1970s. He pointed out to NASA that if their probe Mariner loses some momentum on Venus, Mercury could fly ten to three instead of the last one.
Planetary missions cannot be imagined without the help of gravity. Thankfully, the ESA study was named “Inventor”. BepiColombo breaks five more times on Wednesday – and then finally there.
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