ESA's BepiColombo Mission Begins Mercury Arrival Phase After Eight Years in Space

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that its BepiColombo mission has commenced its arrival phase at Mercury, following an eight-year journey through the inner Solar System. The mission, a collaboration between ESA and JAXA, involves two spacecraft that will orbit Mercury simultaneously to investigate the planet's mysteries. The Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) has successfully separated, and the two orbiters are expected to enter Mercury's orbit on November 21, 2026, with the science phase beginning in April 2027.