After nearly eight years traveling through the inner Solar System, BepiColombo has begun its long-awaited arrival at Mercury – carrying with it the name, scientific legacy and technological excellence of Italy.
The ESA–JAXA mission entered its critical arrival phase on September 3, 2026, when the Mercury Transfer Module separated from the spacecraft. BepiColombo is scheduled to enter orbit around Mercury on November 21, before its 2 scientific orbiters separate in December. Full scientific operations are expected to begin in April 2027.
Behind the mission’s distinctive name stands Giuseppe “Bepi” Colombo, one of Italy’s great space-science pioneers. Born in Padua in 1920, the mathematician and engineer made fundamental contributions to humanity’s understanding of Mercury. Colombo helped explain the planet’s unusual 3:2 spin-orbit resonance – Mercury rotates 3 times on its axis for every 2 revolutions around the Sun.
His work also helped transform planetary exploration. Colombo suggested to NASA how Mariner 10 could use a gravity assist at Venus and follow a trajectory allowing repeated encounters with Mercury. The spacecraft eventually made 3 Mercury flybys in 1974 and 1975. ESA formally named its Mercury mission BepiColombo in his honor in 1999.
Italy’s role, however, extends far beyond the mission’s name. Four major scientific experiments aboard BepiColombo were developed with Italian leadership and funding from the Italian Space Agency: SIMBIO-SYS, ISA, MORE and SERENA.
Italian institutions including INAF and Sapienza University of Rome are deeply involved, while companies including Leonardo, Thales Alenia Space Italia and OHB Italia contributed technological expertise.
The instruments will investigate Mercury’s surface, internal structure, gravity, particles and interaction with the solar wind while also enabling exceptionally precise tests of fundamental physics.
BepiColombo is therefore more than a European-Japanese mission carrying an Italian name. It represents a remarkable continuity of Italian excellence – from Colombo’s calculations decades ago to the scientists, universities, research institutes and aerospace companies now helping humanity understand the planet closest to the Sun.
