— Ch. 1 · The Man Behind The Name —
BepiColombo.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Giuseppe Bepi Colombo lived from 1920 to 1984. He worked as a scientist, mathematician and engineer at the University of Padua in Italy. His name now adorns a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. This spacecraft travels toward Mercury with the goal of studying its magnetic field and surface structure. Colombo first proposed the interplanetary gravity assist maneuver used by the 1974 Mariner 10 mission. That technique is now frequently used by planetary probes across the solar system. The public named the second orbiter Mio after thousands of suggestions were submitted. In Japanese, Mio means a waterway. JAXA stated that it symbolizes research milestones reached thus far. They also wished for safe travel ahead. The spacecraft will travel through the solar wind just like a ship traveling through the ocean. Chinese and Japanese cultures refer to Mercury as the water star.
Instruments And Scientific Goals
Scientists aim to study the origin and evolution of a planet close to its parent star. They want to investigate Mercury's form, interior, structure, geology, composition and craters. The mission will explore the exosphere, including generation and escape mechanisms. Researchers plan to study Mercury's magnetised envelope or magnetosphere. A key objective involves verifying Einstein's theory of general relativity. Scientists measure parameters gamma and beta of the parameterized post-Newtonian formalism with high accuracy. Mercury has a tenuous surface-bounded exosphere containing hydrogen, helium, oxygen, sodium, calcium, potassium and other trace elements. Atoms are continuously lost and replenished from various sources. Russia provided gamma ray and neutron spectrometers to verify water ice in polar craters. These craters remain permanently shadowed from the Sun's rays. The orbiters carry instruments provided by European countries and Japan. The mission characterizes the solid and liquid iron core of the planet's radius. It determines the size of each component within the core. Gravitational and magnetic field mappings complete the scientific payload.