Latest updates: BepiColombo's arrival at Mercury

BepiColombo, the joint ESA/JAXA mission, is arriving at Mercury after eight years of interplanetary travel. It will be the first mission to orbit Mercury with two spacecraft simultaneously: ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio). The mission's 'arrival phase' begins with the separation of the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) from the spacecraft stack, which occurred on 3 September 2026.

On that day, at about 14:52 BST / 15:52 CEST, acquisition of signal via two Estrack deep space antennas—in Cebreros, Spain, and Malargüe, Argentina—confirmed the successful separation. Telemetry indicated all systems nominal, with MPO's solar panels charging the batteries. Earlier, a preliminary Doppler signal consistent with the planned separation sequence had been detected at 13:41 BST; the effect was explained as analogous to the changing pitch of an ambulance siren. The separation occurred more than 200 million kilometres from Earth, requiring precise planning with no opportunity for real-time intervention.

Following the MTM separation, the two science orbiters are on course for orbit insertion around Mercury on 21 November 2026. MPO and Mio will separate from each other on 9–10 December 2026, with MPO powering the stack until then. The mission's science phase is scheduled to begin in April 2027.