BepiColombo first Mercury flyby

Visualisation of BepiColombo flying by Mercury on 1 October 2021. The spacecraft makes nine gravity assist manoeuvres (one of Earth, two of Venus and six of Mercury) before entering orbit around the innermost planet of the Solar System.

The closest approach is at 23:34 UTC on 1 October (01:34 CEST 2 October) at a distance of about 200 km.

BepiColombo is an international collaboration between ESA and JAXA.