What’s the next mission to a planet within our Solar System?

We take a look at which mission will be leaving the Earth’s atmosphere to head to another world within the solar neighbourhood

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BepiColombo, pictured here in a space simulator, will be the next mission to a planet within our Solar System

BepiColombo, pictured here in a space simulator, will be the next mission to a planet within our Solar System

Asked by Rolf Cooper

The next mission to be launched to a planet within our Solar System is the BepiColombo mission to Mercury. This is a joint project between ESA and JAXA (the European and Japanese space agencies).

The mission primarily aims to investigate the origin and evolution of the closest planet to the Sun, which we know so little about. It will gather important information about Mercury’s geology, composition, magnetic field and atmosphere.

In order to get there, BepiColombo will use a series of gravity-assisted flybys of Earth and Venus in conjunction with an electric ion drive. Due to launch in July 2016, the journey will take eight years before the spacecraft enters orbit.

Answered by Josh Barker at the National Space Centre

Image Credit: ESA

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