BepiColombo spacecraft near Mercury after decade-long journey

Two spacecraft bound for Mercury separated from their mother ship on Thursday, entering the final stage of their nearly decade-long voyage to the solar system's smallest planet. Controllers received confirmation via radio signals after two anxious hours. The European and Japanese spacecraft, part of the BepiColombo mission, will enter Mercury's orbit in November and split in December to study the planet from different altitudes. Launched in 2018, the mission has traveled over 6 billion miles and required nine planetary flybys to reach its destination. Only NASA's Messenger has previously explored Mercury, a scorching world with temperatures exceeding 800 degrees Fahrenheit. Beginning next spring, the spacecraft will study Mercury's magnetic field, dense interior, and surface geology, including ice-filled craters at its frigid poles.