{"id":17531,"date":"2020-03-31T10:24:31","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T10:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=17531"},"modified":"2020-06-09T12:09:36","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T12:09:36","slug":"esa-to-conduct-bepicolombo-flyby-amid-coronavirus-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/esa-to-conduct-bepicolombo-flyby-amid-coronavirus-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"ESA to conduct BepiColombo flyby amid coronavirus crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Controllers at ESA\u2019s mission control centre are preparing for a gravity-assist flyby of the European-Japanese Mercury explorer BepiColombo. The manoeuvre, which will see the mission adjust its trajectory by harnessing Earth\u2019s gravitational pull as it swings past the planet, will be performed amid restrictions ESA has implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BepiColombo,\u00a0launched in October 2018<\/a>, is currently orbiting the Sun at a similar distance as Earth. On 10 April, at about 06:25 am (CEST), the spacecraft will approach Earth at the distance of only 12 700 km, which is less than half the altitude of Europe\u2019s Galileo navigational satellites. The manoeuvre will slow down the BepiColombo spacecraft and bend its trajectory towards the centre of the Solar System, thus tightening its orbit around the Sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the last time we will see BepiColombo from Earth,\u201d says Joe Zender, BepiColombo Deputy Project Scientist at ESA. \u201cAfter that it will head deeper into the inner Solar System.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mission scientists plan to use the flyby to test some of the\u00a011 instruments aboard ESA\u2019s Mercury\u00a0Planetary Orbiter<\/a>\u00a0(MPO), one of the European components of\u00a0the mission<\/a>, which travels to the innermost planet of the Solar System together with the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two science orbiters are stacked on top of the ESA-made Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), with Mio sitting atop hidden behind a protective sunshield. The transfer module obscures the view of some of the MPO instruments, but the scientists expect to be able to obtain data from eight of the 11 science payloads. Mio\u2019s view is mostly blocked by the sunshield, but some of\u00a0its sensors<\/a>\u00a0will also be switched on during the flyby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The operation, however, will be performed\u00a0with limited personnel at ESA\u2019s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC)<\/a>\u00a0in Darmstadt, Germany, where engineers will have to comply with social distancing rules presently in place all over Europe as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Earth swing-by is a phase where we need daily contact with the spacecraft,\u201d says Elsa Montagnon, BepiColombo Spacecraft Operations Manager at ESA. \u201cThis is something that we cannot postpone. The spacecraft will swing by Earth independently in any case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coronavirus threat forces the team to work with minimal face to face interaction while ensuring all steps in the process are properly covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring the critical two weeks prior to the closest approach, we need to upload safety commands to prepare the spacecraft for unexpected problems,\u201d says Christoph Steiger, BepiColombo Deputy Spacecraft Operations Manager. \u201cFor example, we need to prepare the transfer module for the 34 minute-long eclipse when its solar panels will not be exposed to sunlight to prevent battery discharge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operations can still be conducted as planned, he adds, but will require more effort and attention than in a normal situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ESA\u2019s BepiColombo Project Scientist Johannes Benkhoff hopes that, despite the challenging circumstances, the science teams will be able to switch on the MPO instruments to test and calibrate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor example, the PHEBUS spectroscope will use the Moon as a calibration target to then produce better data once at Mercury,\u201d says Johannes. \u201cWe also want to make some measurements of the solar wind and its interaction with Earth\u2019s magnetic field. The main purpose of having the instruments on at this stage, however, is testing and calibration. If we can use the data for some scientific investigation, it will be a bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BepiColombo also carries\u00a0three GoPro-style \u2018selfie\u2019 cameras<\/a>, mounted on the transfer module, that will be taking photographs as the spacecraft approaches Earth. The scientists activated the cameras in early March and took a few snaps of the Earth-Moon system as viewed by BepiColombo from its position hurtling towards the Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will see the Earth approaching and getting bigger,\u201d says Joe. \u201cWhen it reaches the nearest point, we will take a few images, and then we are planning to capture a whole sequence of photographs over several hours looking at the Earth-Moon system as it gets smaller and smaller until we lose it completely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank Budnik, ESA\u2019s BepiColombo Flight Dynamics manager, adds: \u201cAs long as all team members are healthy and the spacecraft continues to perform nominally, everything can proceed as planned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Earth flyby on 10 April is only the first of nine gravity assist manoeuvres awaiting BepiColombo during its\u00a07-year journey to Mercury<\/a>. In October, the spacecraft will perform the first of two flybys at Venus. The final six orbit-tightening manoeuvres will use the gravity of BepiColombo\u2019s destination,\u00a0Mercury<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BepiColombo will arrive at Mercury in late 2025.\u00a0The science mission<\/a>\u00a0will commence three months later, after Mio and the MPO\u00a0separate from the transfer module and enter their respective target orbits. Together, the two orbiters will help scientists shed light on the evolution of Mercury,\u00a0the least explored of the four rocky planets<\/a>\u00a0in the Solar System and the one closest to the Sun.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning about Mercury\u2019s composition, the geological processes on its surface and the environment around it will help scientists answer some\u00a0fundamental questions<\/a>\u00a0not only about Mercury, but also about the formation and evolution of the entire Solar System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amateur astronomers equipped with small telescopes will be able to\u00a0observe BepiColombo<\/a>\u00a0during the flyby, if located in\u00a0southern latitudes<\/a>. Observers in southern Europe might be able to spot the spacecraft briefly. The best view, however, will only be possible from the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n
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Controllers at ESA\u2019s mission control centre are preparing for a gravity-assist flyby of the European-Japanese Mercury explorer BepiColombo. The manoeuvre, which will see the mission adjust its trajectory by harnessing Earth\u2019s gravitational pull as it swings past the planet, will be performed amid restrictions ESA has implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic. BepiColombo,\u00a0launched in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-research"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",960,540,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey-200x200.jpg",200,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey-768x432.jpg",750,422,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",750,422,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",960,540,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",960,540,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",960,540,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",870,489,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",600,338,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",600,338,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey-760x490.jpg",760,490,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey-550x360.jpg",550,360,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey-95x65.jpg",95,65,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",640,360,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",96,54,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BepiColombo-journey.jpg",150,84,false]},"author_info":{"info":["RevoScience"]},"category_info":"News<\/a> Research<\/a>","tag_info":"Research","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}