BepiColombo spacecraft arrives at Mercury after eight-year journey

The BepiColombo spacecraft, carrying European and Japanese probes, arrives at Mercury on Thursday after an eight-year journey, facing high-risk maneuvers to study the Sun-scorched planet. The mission aims to release two probes into orbit around the smallest planet in our Solar System. The European Space Agency describes the arrival as its most operationally challenging planetary sequence ever attempted. Mercury's weak gravitational pull and extreme proximity to the Sun make approach complex, requiring the spacecraft to travel over 10 billion kilometers with nine flybys to perfect its trajectory. The two probes will separate from the transfer module at 1200 GMT, with ESA officials comparing it to launching a new spacecraft. The European MPO will study Mercury from 480 km away, while Japan's Mio will examine its magnetic field from up to 11,000 km, with separation occurring autonomously due to a 30-minute communication delay.