GoKawiil
Tech News
The ESA-JAXA BepiColombo probe separated from its propulsion module on September 3, completing the final phase before entering low orbit around Mercury. The mission, delayed nearly a year after a thruster malfunction forced a slower trajectory, has traveled roughly 9.9 billion kilometers using nine gravity-assist maneuvers around Earth, Venus and Mercury.
Researchers analyzing data from NASA's Messenger spacecraft now estimate Mercury has contracted up to 14 miles in diameter as its interior cooled over billions of years, roughly 30% more shrinkage than previously calculated. The findings, published in Geophysical Research Letters, suggest the planet's cratered, debris-strewn surface had obscured the true scale of this shrinkage.
ESA's BepiColombo mission, a joint effort with Japan and the US costing nearly $2 billion, has released the Mercury Transfer Module that powered and propelled the spacecraft since its 2018 launch. The jettison follows nine gravity-assist flybys of Earth, Venus, and Mercury designed to slow the craft enough for Mercury's gravity to eventually capture it into orbit later this year.