Media briefing: BepiColombo's next milestone towards Mercury

BepiColombo, a joint ESA/JAXA mission and the first European and Japanese mission to Mercury, is approaching a critical phase. On 31 August 2026, the agencies hosted an online press briefing to discuss the latest developments, focusing on the separation of the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) scheduled for 3 September 2026. This separation marks the start of the mission's Mercury arrival phase, a complex operation that will be followed by Mercury orbit insertion in November 2026 and the separation of the two science orbiters — ESA's MPO and JAXA's Mio — in December 2026.

The briefing also provided an overview of the operational challenges ahead and an update on the mission's status, as well as the scientific opportunities that await as BepiColombo begins operations around Mercury. Journalists were able to ask questions following presentations from Prof. Geraint Jones (Lead Project Scientist, ESA), Santa Martinez (Mission Manager, ESA), and Ignacio Tanco (Head of Inner Solar System Mission Operations, ESA).

BepiColombo is described as the most complex mission ever sent to Mercury. Its orbiters will be only the second and third to orbit the planet, which is close to the Sun and more difficult for an orbiter to reach than Pluto. Mercury remains the least explored planet of the inner Solar System, and learning more about it will shed light on the history of the entire Solar System. The mission is a collaboration between ESA and JAXA, with JAXA providing the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio).