Reaching Mercury is such a challenge because “the gravitational pull of the Sun is very strong near Mercury, which makes it difficult for spacecraft to slow down enough to enter orbit around the planet,” explains Lina Hadid, staff scientist at CNRS in France and principal investigator of one of BepiColombo’s instruments.

The BepiColombo mission recently made its sixth flyby of Mercury, snapping some images along the way.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

A spacecraft named BepiColombo is currently zipping by planet Mercury, making a very close flyby and snapping incredible high-def photos.

Enigmatic planet Mercury posed for some closeups when the BepiColombo mission flew by. Craters, bright regions and volcanic plains star in the best views from the flyby.

In a thrilling close approach, the BepiColombo mission captured its final, stunning images of Mercury before its orbit insertion in 2026. Revealing icy craters and expansive volcanic plains, these pho

BepiColombo passed a mere 295 kilometers above Mercury's surface at 6:59 CET on Jan. 9. The flyby began on the planet's frigid night side. Seven minutes later, the probe emerged from the shadows over the North Pole. This area was bathed in light, allowing it to capture a stunning visage with its monitoring cameras (M-CAMs).

This is already the sixth mission of the BepiColombo probe in Mercury's orbit. This time, it approached the most minor planet in the Solar System to a distance of just 295 kilometres. Closer looks at the icy craters are impressive.