BepiColombo's Penultimate Mercury Flyby Captures Stunning Image

The BepiColombo probe, a joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), completed its fifth flyby of Mercury, capturing a striking image of the planet. This flyby, part of a series of gravity assists, utilized the Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (MERTIS) for the first time to study Mercury's surface composition. Launched in 2018, BepiColombo is set to enter Mercury's orbit in November 2026, where it will separate into two orbiters to conduct detailed studies of the planet.