“These selfies from space make us humble, showing our planet, the common home that we share, in one of the most problematic and uncertain times that many of us have faced,” said Hasinger. “We are scientists who fly spacecraft to explore the Solar System and observe the universe in search of our cosmic origins, but before that we are human, we care about each other and we are together facing a planetary emergency “said the head of science of ESA again. “When I look at these images – he added – I remember the strength and resilience of man, the difficulties that we can overcome when we unite, and I hope that they bring to you the same sense of hope for our future”.
The Earth seen by the Bepi Colombo spacecraft during the flight over April 10, 2020 (source: ESA / BepiColombo / MTM, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
The last farewell to Earth from the probe headed for Mercury
A last farewell to Earth, with souvenir photos, to take the push that will push it to Mercury: the Bepi Colombo spacecraft flew over our planet approaching less than 12,700 kilometers. It was an important stage in the long journey of the probe, launched in 2018 to reach the planet closest to the Sun in December 2025 and make observations that will help to reconstruct the origins of our planetary system.
After the push received from Earth, Bepi Colombo will use twice that of Venus and six more times the push of the same Mercury. Like an effect similar to that of a slingshot, the close encounters with the planets give the spacecraft sufficient thrust to face its mission, together with the on-board solar propulsion system. Immediately after approaching Earth, Bepi Colombo faced 34 critical minutes when he crossed the shadow of the planet: a planned maneuver, but which nevertheless kept his breath in control of the mission control center in Germany, in Darmstadt, where the staff is limited and must comply with the rules of social distance due to the new coronavirus epidemic.
This planned eclipse “was the most delicate part of the overflight, with the passage of the probe through the shadow of our planet and not receiving direct sunlight for the first time since the launch,” said Elsa Montagnon, head of operations BepiColombo for Esa.
During the overflight Bepi Colombo also captured images of the Moon and measured the Earth’s magnetic field. In the mission, led on an industrial level by Airbus Defense & Space, Italy participates with the Leonardo group, which contributed with the AA-Str attitude sensor that allows the probe to orient itself in navigation and the Simbio-Sys instrument (Spectrometers and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory System). In addition, Thales Alenia Space (Thales-Leonardo) coordinates a group of 35 companies and is responsible for telecommunication systems, thermal control, electrical power distribution; Telespazio (Leonardo-Thales), with the subsidiary Telespazio Vega Deutschland, has developed systems for the land segment.
