Joe Palka
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
At its closest approach, Mercury is a mere 50 million miles from Earth.
Jupiter is more than seven times that far.
Yet a mission to Jupiter took five years to arrive.
The Mercury probe called BepiColombo is taking eight.
The answer is the sun's gravity.
When you head to a planet closer to the sun, the trick is slowing down enough so you go into orbit around the sun instead of plunging into it.
BepiColombo flew by the Earth once, Venus twice, and Mercury itself six times to use those planets' gravity as a way of putting on the brakes.
Once the European and Japanese Space Agency's spacecraft arrives, it will study how Mercury formed and why there is ice at the poles.
At its closest approach, Mercury is a mere 50 million miles from Earth.
Jupiter is more than seven times that far.
Yet a mission to Jupiter took five years to arrive.
The Mercury probe called BepiColombo is taking eight.
The answer is the Sun's gravity.
When you head to a planet closer to the Sun, the trick is slowing down enough so you go into orbit around the Sun instead of plunging into it.
BepiColombo flew by the Earth once, Venus twice, and Mercury itself six times to use those planets' gravity as a way of putting on the brakes.
Once the European and Japanese Space Agency's spacecraft arrives, it will study how Mercury formed and why there is ice at the poles.