On-board the MPO, the instruments with apertures in the \(+Z\) axis are obstructed by the MTM and, hence, are not able to acquire scientific measurements. In fact, Mio will be partly shielded by MOSIF, thus allowing instruments to detect signals only within a conical field-of-view around the MCS’s \(-Z\) axis.
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However, the MCS configuration will not allow full operability of all instruments onboard.
The former will focus on the planet itself and close interactions with its surface, while the latter will study the environment around the planet including the planet’s exosphere and magnetosphere, and their interaction processes with the solar wind. The MPO payload comprises 11 experiments and instrument suites, and Mio carries 5 experiments and instrument suites.
2 shows the composite spacecraft MCS with its reference axes: \(+Y\) is directed into the radiator panel of MPO, \(+Z\) is along the main axis of MCS, from Mio towards the MTM \(+X\) completes the Cartesian 3-axis system. Hence, BepiColombo packed configuration (usually named Mercury Composite Spacecraft, MCS) is composed by ESA spacecraft MPO, the JAXA spacecraft Mio, the Mercury Transfer Module MTM, and the sunshade cone MOSIF (acronym for Magnetospheric Orbiter Sunshield and Interface Structure) designed to protect Mio during the cruise phase.īepiColombo cruise trajectory is a long journey into the inner heliosphere, and it includes one flyby of the Earth (in April 2020), two of Venus (in October 2020 and August 2021), and six of Mercury itself (starting from 2021), before the orbit insertion in December 2025.įigure 1 shows a schematic of the complete cruise trajectory (from launch to orbit insertion), and Fig. BepiColombo was launched from Kourou (French Guiana) on October 20th, 2018 in its packed configuration named Mercury Composite Spacecraft, MCS) including the two spacecraft: the ESA Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the JAXA Mio (formerly named Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter) (see Benkhoff et al., this journal). The dual spacecraft mission BepiColombo is the first joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to explore the planet Mercury. Additional scientific research that will emerge in the coming years is also discussed, including the instruments that can contribute. The present paper reviews all the planetary flybys and some interesting cruise configurations. A big part of the mission instruments will be fully operational during the mission cruise phase, allowing unprecedented investigation of the different environments that will encounter during the 7-years long cruise. BepiColombo cruise trajectory is a long journey into the inner heliosphere, and it includes one flyby of the Earth (in April 2020), two of Venus (in October 2020 and August 2021), and six of Mercury (starting from 2021), before orbit insertion in December 2025. BepiColombo was launched from Kourou (French Guiana) on October 20th, 2018, in its packed configuration including two spacecraft, a transfer module, and a sunshield. Space Science Reviews volume 217, Article number: 23 ( 2021) BepiColombo Science Investigations During Cruise and Flybys at the Earth, Venus and Mercury