
ESA explained the difficulties of reaching Mercury and the route followed by the spacecraft.
AI-generated summary
Mercury formed about 4.5 billion years ago and may have lost a significant portion of its outer shell as a result of being hit by another celestial body.
Although Earth is about 10 times closer to Mercury than Jupiter, BepiColombo's journey took longer than previous Galileo and Juno missions to Jupiter.
The main reason for this is the difficulty of placing the spacecraft in orbit of the planet, rather than reaching Mercury.
Frank Budnik, ESA BepiColombo Flight Dynamics Manager, stated that the planet can be reached faster if we go to Mercury directly, but the speed of the spacecraft must be adapted to the speed of Mercury in order to enter orbit.
For this, BepiColombo used its electric propulsion system as well as the gravitational support it received from a total of nine passes near Earth, Venus and Mercury.
Another big question that the mission will seek to answer is why Mercury has an extraordinarily dense structure despite its small size.
According to one theory, Mercury was a larger planet when it formed about 4.5 billion years ago. However, it lost a significant part of its outer shell as a result of being hit by another large celestial body.
The fact that denser materials remain may explain Mercury's high density today.
TÜRKSAT and Chinese satellite operator China Satcom signed a technology protocol focused on joint R&D, hardware and software development at IAC 2026 in Antalya.

Margaret Hamilton, who led the team that developed software for NASA's Apollo missions and coined the term 'software engineering', passed away at the age of 90.
Türkiye's third space traveler Gökhan Erdem and his accompanying astronauts visited a high school in Antalya's Aksu district, examined the UAV R&D center and aircraft library, and met with students.

SpaceX invited all satellite operators to share real-time data and new safety standards in order to reduce collision risks in low Earth orbit. The company increases security measures by lowering the altitude of Starlink satellites.
At the 77th International Astronautical Congress held in Antalya, NASA and Peruvian Space Agency officials emphasized the principles of transparency, security and international cooperation of the Artemis Agreements. NASA drew attention to Türkiye's increasing capacity in the field of space.
OHB Board Member Sabine von der Recke announced at the 77th International Astronautical Congress held in Antalya that Germany will invest 35 billion euros in space security infrastructure by 2030.