Space probe BepiColombo: Engine problems before important maneuvers on Mercury
BepiColombo has been traveling for almost six years and is due to arrive at Mercury in a year and a half. However, the probe is now experiencing engine problems.
Artistic representation of BepiColombo in front of Mercury
(Image: ESA/ATG medialab/NASA/JPL)
The Mercury probe BepiColombo has a problem with its propulsion system and the European Space Agency is not yet able to say how this will affect its planned arrival on the planet. This is according to an ESA statement published before the weekend. During a maneuver on 26 April, it was noticed that the space probe's engines were not receiving enough power. In the days that followed, it was possible to increase the engine power to around 90 percent of the previous level, but the engines were still unable to operate at full power. However, the priority at the moment is to maintain this level and assess the possible impact on the mission. The cause is still being investigated.
Nervousness at ESA
As the ESA explains further, those responsible for the probe at the Flight Control Center in Darmstadt, Hesse, have already ensured that BepiColombo makes contact with the ground station more frequently. This is intended to improve monitoring of the probe. At the same time, the aim is to ensure that it is possible to react quickly if necessary. If the probe maintains its current engine performance, "it should be able to decelerate at Mercury as planned in September", writes the ESA. At the same time, this underlines the existing uncertainty in view of the complex maneuvers that the probe still has to perform. In total, it is scheduled to perform three more swing-by maneuvers at Mercury and enter orbit in December 2025.
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BepiColombo was launched in October 2018 on its seven-year journey. The spacecraft is carrying two scientific satellites to study the surface and magnetic field of the planet closest to the sun. The joint European-Japanese project, with total costs of around two billion euros, aims to help understand the origins of the solar system. Preparations for the mission took almost 20 years. This is not only due to the inhospitable conditions in the vicinity of Mercury. The journey is extremely complicated, even if the technology works perfectly, because more energy is needed for the flight than to Pluto, for example, which is much further away.
(mho)
