BepiColombo

BepiColombo is a set of three space probes on a mission to study the planet Mercury and better understand other planets that orbit close to their star. Two of the three space probes are orbiters known as the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). The third space probe, known as the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), uses solar electric propulsion to help carry the two orbiters to Mercury. BepiColombo hopes to learn about Mercury’s volcanoes, magnetic field, and its present-day tectonic activity that was recently discovered. Mercury is the only other planet in the solar system known to have tectonic activity like Earth and is considered the least explored rocky planet in the solar system. BepiColombo is the first European and Japanese space probe sent to Mercury.