On January 8, 2025, the BepiColombo spacecraft completed its sixth and final flyby of Mercury, providing scientists with unprecedented data about the innermost planet of our solar system. This joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is set to enter Mercury's orbit in late 2026, marking the beginning of its primary mission.
During this latest flyby, BepiColombo approached the dark side of Mercury, coming within 295 kilometers of its surface. The spacecraft captured stunning images, revealing insights into the planet's elusive features. These observations are crucial as scientists work to unravel the mysteries surrounding Mercury.
Among the notable findings are images of permanently shadowed craters at Mercury's north pole, where sunlight never reaches. Despite Mercury's proximity to the Sun, these craters are among the coldest locations in the solar system, believed to harbor water ice. The presence of this ice will be further investigated during BepiColombo's primary mission.
Interestingly, while Mercury appears bright in images, its surface reflects only about two-thirds of the sunlight that the Moon does. This low reflectivity aids researchers in studying the planet's geological history. The discovery of lighter areas on Mercury indicates where lighter materials have recently been brought to the surface, likely due to volcanic activity or asteroid impacts. BepiColombo will analyze the composition of these materials and explore why they darken over time.
Additionally, the spacecraft captured images of the Caloris Basin, the largest impact crater on Mercury, measuring 1,500 kilometers in diameter. BepiColombo also traversed Mercury's magnetosphere, providing further insights into the planet's magnetic field.
In a separate development, physicists are excited about a new underground neutrino detector designed to explore the universe's hidden dimensions. This 1,300-kilometer device aims to shed light on the elusive particles and may help uncover additional spatial dimensions.