BepiColombo, a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), flew about 236 kilometres above the planet Mercury’s surface on June 19, according to ESA. Three images taken by the spacecraft highlight its journey around the closest planet to the Sun. During the close encounter where BepiColombo flew above the night side of the planet, its camera snapped many images of the rocky planet. The images are black-and-white and have a 1024 x 1024 resolution. Three of the tens of images taken by the spacecraft were given an early release by ESA on Tuesday. About twenty minutes after the spacecraft’s closest approach to the planet, it was already around 1,800 kilometres away from the surface. At that point, some features of the planet began appearing out of the shadows, as seen from the camera. But the planet’s surface became a lot more optimally illuminated for imaging about 20 minutes after close approach. At that point, it was more than 3,500 kilometres above the planet. There is a large 218 kilometre-wide impact crater visible to the right of BepiColombo’s antenna in the two closest images. It was named “Manley” after Jamaican Artist Edna Manley. A trio of images to highlight #BepiColombo's 3rd #MercuryFlyby, featuring a newly named crater and various geological and tectonic curiosities. Enjoy this first-look taste of our flyby! Details & images👉 pic.twitter.com/5J0tlGdNvb — BepiColombo (@BepiColombo) June 20, 2023 A large 218 km-wide peak-ring impact crater visible just below and to the right of the antenna in the two closest images presented here has just been assigned the name Manley by the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature after Jamaican artist Edna Manley (1900–1987). In those same images, the geological thrust systems are visible close to the “terminator” of the planet. The terminator of the planet or the “twilight zone” is where the planet's night side and day side meet. The slopes are called Beagle Rupes. They are an example of “lobate scarps,” which Mercury has many of. Lobate scarps are the “wrinkles” that formed on the planet when it was cooling and contracting. This was the spacecraft’s third close flyby near Mercury and the next one is set to happen on September 5, 2024.
