BepiColombo Live Mission 3D
Follow the long journey to Mercury. Revisit every planetary flyby, inspect the spacecraft, and explore the mission ahead.
Preparing mission… · Current mission phase
Live mode uses the current UTC time and sourced orbital predictions. Use the timeline below to replay a mission milestone.
“Live” means an ephemeris-based position for the current time, not a camera stream or spacecraft telemetry. Historical states and predicted states are labelled. No trajectory is extrapolated beyond the available data.
One mission. Nine gravity assists.
Select a milestone to travel to its date and explore the relevant scene.
Three modules. Two science orbiters.
The transfer module delivered the orbiters. MPO and Mio will study Mercury from different polar orbits.
Mercury Planetary Orbiter
ESA’s orbiter investigates the surface, composition, gravity and interior. Its published design orbit is 480 × 1,500 km above Mercury.
- Science experiments
- 11
- Design orbit period
- About 2.3 hours
Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter
JAXA’s Mio investigates magnetic fields, plasma, waves, dust and sodium around Mercury. Its design orbit is 590 × 11,640 km above the planet.
- Science instrument suites
- 5
- Design orbit period
- About 9.3 hours
Mercury Transfer Module
The MTM provided solar power and electric propulsion during cruise. It carried three monitoring cameras and separated from the orbiters in September 2026.
- Propulsion
- Solar electric
- Monitoring cameras
- 3
During cruise, Mio sits inside the MOSIF sunshield. The three supplied spacecraft models are textured assets; the sunshield and component placement in this explorer are schematic. Deployed hardware in the inspection views does not reproduce every flight configuration.
What will BepiColombo measure?
Explore the instruments and supporting hardware. Sensor names are grouped into their parent experiments.
MPOBELA
Laser measurements of surface heights and terrain.
MPOISA
Measures tiny accelerations for gravity and radio-science studies.
MPOMPO-MAG
Measures the magnetic field near Mercury.
MPOMERTIS
Infrared observations of surface minerals and thermal properties.
MPOMGNS
Gamma rays and neutrons reveal elements and near-surface volatiles.
MPOMIXS
X-ray imaging of the surface elemental composition.
MPOMORE
Radio tracking measures gravity and tests relativistic effects.
MPOPHEBUS
Ultraviolet measurements of the thin exosphere.
MPOSERENA
Four sensors study neutral and charged particles: ELENA, MIPA, PICAM and STROFIO.
MPOSIMBIO-SYS
Stereo imaging, colour imaging and spectral observations.
MPOSIXS
Measures solar X-rays and energetic particles.
MPOBERM
Radiation monitor supporting spacecraft operations.
MioMPPE
Particle experiment: MEA1/2, MIA, MSA, HEP-ELE, HEP-ION and ENA.
MioMGF
Magnetic-field measurements on a deployed mast.
MioPWI
Plasma waves measured with antennas including MEFISTO and WPT.
MioMSASI
Images sodium around Mercury.
MioMDM
Detects dust particles around the planet.
MTMMCAM 1–3
Three monitoring cameras photographed hardware and flyby worlds.
CommunicationsHGA & MGA
High- and medium-gain antennas communicate with Earth; they are not separate science experiments.
Why does getting closer to the Sun take so long?
Reaching Mercury means reducing the spacecraft’s Sun-relative orbital energy. A direct fall toward the Sun would carry too much speed for easy capture at Mercury. Planetary gravity assists and long periods of electric propulsion gradually reshape the orbit.
The spacecraft has completed one Earth, two Venus and six Mercury flybys. Flybys change the path while the spacecraft continues around the Sun. Orbital insertion uses propulsion to enter a bound Mercury orbit.
Read ESA’s journey explanation ↗MPO studies the planet itself from a lower orbit. Mio samples a much wider region of the magnetic environment. Neither spacecraft is a lander. The science-orbit view illustrates published orbit designs, rather than an unverified live position of Mio.
Before you explore
Is this a live video from BepiColombo?
No. The explorer calculates positions for the selected UTC time from NASA/JPL ephemeris data. A current-time position can be a prediction based on a recent orbit solution.
Will BepiColombo land on Mercury?
No. MPO and Mio are orbiters. MTM separates on the approach; Mio is then released into its Mercury orbit, followed by the MOSIF sunshield. MPO lowers its own orbit. Watch the illustrated separation sequence to explore these stages; its movements and seconds of animation are schematic.
Can I see the entire mission, including the future?
The timeline spans launch through the nominal science planning horizon in April 2028. The bundled trajectory begins on 20 October 2018 at 02:15 UTC, shortly after launch, and ends on 10 April 2027. Later milestones open a clearly labelled design-orbit diagram. A possible extension and final disposal are not confirmed.
Why do some dates differ from older mission pages?
The arrival schedule changed after reduced electric propulsion. This explorer uses the current 2026 arrival plan. Flyby dates use closest-approach UTC; some summary pages give different calendar dates.
Are sizes and distances to scale?
Journey positions use a linear Sun-centred distance scale, with enlarged bodies and a spacecraft marker. Close approaches offer compressed or true relative distances. Spacecraft inspection uses metre-scale model geometry with schematic assembly placement. Science-orbit diagrams use published periapsis and apoapsis altitudes.
Sources & model notes
Loading trajectory provenance…
The model files were supplied for this project. Their original provider’s attribution and usage terms remain applicable. This explorer is an independent educational visualization by Universe Map, not an ESA/JAXA mission-control service.