On September 4, 2024, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission achieved its fourth successful gravity assist flyby of Mercury. The flybys play an important part in preparing the spacecraft for its eventual orbital insertion around Mercury in November 2026.
Gofore’s subsidiary Huld is proud to provide the control software for two instruments of BepiColombo spacecraft:
- MIXS, Mercury Imaging X-Ray Spectrometer.
- SIXS, Solar Intensity X-Ray and Particle Spectrometer.
Once in orbit, these instruments will jump into action as BepiColombo’s main phase starts in 2027. The spacecraft will begin its detailed study of Mercury’s origin and evolution, aiming to answer fundamental questions about the planet’s formation and its place within our solar system.
Meanwhile, the Independent Software Verification and Validation (ISVV) Huld provided will give confidence to BepiColombo’s mission.
Read more from the news article by ESA here.
The MTG-S1 mission is a cooperation between Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA and European Space Agency ESA.
The view expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of ESA nor JAXA.
Picture © ESA/ATG medialab