The region captured in the first image is part of the northern hemisphere of that planet, including the Sihtu Plain that has been flooded by lava
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The European space mission- The Japanese BepiColombo transmitted to Earth this Saturday the first images of the surface of Mercury as the spacecraft passed in front of the planet to perform a gravitational assistance maneuver, reported the European Space Agency (ESA), according to RT.
One of the first images was taken by Tracking Camera 2 of the Mercury Transfer Module, when the spacecraft was about 2,418 kilometers from the planet, during the first of the six planned flybys. However, the closest approach occurred minutes before, at a distance of 199 kilometers.
The agency specified that other details and images will be sent later, showing large craters on the surface of the planet very similar to those of the Moon.
– Federico Kukso (@fedkukso)
October 2, 2021
The region captured in the first image is part of the northern hemisphere of Mercury, including the Sihtu Plain that has been flooded by lava. Also visible is the 166-kilometer-wide Lermontov Crater, which according to ESA appears bright because it contains unique features of Mercury called “holes” where volatile elements escape into space.
BepiColombo was launched in 2018, as a joint mission between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It plans to fly over Mercury six times, collecting images and scientific data that it will study once it is in orbit in 2025, with the aim of revealing the origin and evolution of the planet closest to the Sun.
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