'Bepi-Colombo Mission': The third spacecraft to visit Mercury

- Future Science-KR Chowdhury

2nd October is Gandhi Jayanti. This day cannot be forgotten not only by India but also by the world, because the great personality of the world, Mahatma Gandhi i.e. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on the second of October. His contribution to Indian history is invaluable. October 2 is not just Gandhiji's birthday. Mohammed Ghajini, notorious in Indian history, was also born on this day. Gandhi Jayanti is also the birthday of British Prince Richard III.

October 3 is also the birthday of Leela Roy, a politician who worked in the history of India's independence. Many forget but, Lal Bahadur Shastri, India's freedom fighter and the second Prime Minister of independent India was also born on the second of October. October 2 is also the birthday of British novelist Graham Green, a leading figure in literature. Talk about rubbing salt in my wounds - d'oh! Why forget about movies? On the day of Gandhi Jayanti, Hindi film actress Asha Parekh and film actor K. That. Menon is born.

Looking at the second of October from a science perspective, the second of October is also an invaluable day for the world of science. Is. On October 2, 1908, Hans Lippershe patented the telescope. On October 2, 1917, John Logie Baird performed the first television set in public. In the world of science, on the day of Gandhi Jayanti, a unique Italian scientist, mathematician and engineer was born in 190. Whose name is ઃ 'Giuseppe' Bepi 'Colombo. To pay special tribute to him, a special space mission has been sent to Mercury by the European Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency. Which is known as the Bepi-Colombo Mission.

Historical glimpses of the past

In the 120's and 80's, scientists suggested that using the gravitational force of Venus, the spacecraft could be sent to Mercury, burning less rocket fuel. The first proposal of the Bepi-Colombo mission was placed in 19. Which is part of the European Space Agency's Horizon-2000 program. The Bepi-Colombo spacecraft was built in 2006 by Britain's Airbus Defense and Space. The 'Bepi-Colombo Mission' was redesigned in 2006. It was to be sent into space by a Russian Soyuz-frigate rocket. But as the payload increased, it was sent into Ariane-2 space. It was initially decided to launch in July 2018.

But due to delays in the program, its launch was finally possible in 2016. In 12-7, the planets Venus and Mercury were to pass very close to each other, i.e. at a distance of about 5 km. Taking advantage of this, NASA brought the Mariner-10 spacecraft closer to the planet Mercury on November 9 with the help of Venus's gravitational force. The basic information we have about the planet Mercury has come to us through NASA's Mariner-10 mission.

During his flying visit, the human species first saw Mercury up close and also got some important information. Four decades later, on August 6, 2009, the 'Messenger' mission was launched to Mercury. He visited Mercury three times in 2007-2. Mercury then crashed on the planet due to lack of fuel. The greatest achievement of the 'Messenger' mission was that it collected evidence of water ice in a pit in the polar region of Mercury. Which scientists call ‘holos’. After all, what do we know about Mercury?

What is the planet Mercury?

The smallest rocky planet in the solar system orbit is Mercury. Not only that, but the least research has been done on the planet Mercury. Mercury is slightly larger in size than Earth's moon. The distance from the Sun to the planet Mercury is about 60 percent of the distance from the Earth to the Sun, that is, 56 million kilometers. The surface temperature of Mercury towards the Sun is 310C. And where it is night, the temperature of the region is minus 310C. As long as. One day of Mercury, also known as Mercury, is about three days, about two months, of Earth. Mercury completes one year of the Earth's orbit by circling the Sun once in 3 days, i.e. about three months.

Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, is not easily accessible. As Mercury approaches the planet, the heat from the sun causes the electrical equipment to stop working. To prevent this, a special type of heat insulator has to be installed on the electrical device. Earth's electrical signals take about 30 seconds, or about five minutes and 30 seconds, to reach the mission near Mercury.

Being the closest to the Sun, when sending a space mission to Mercury, the overwhelming gravitational force of the Sun must also be taken into account. Due to which the speed of the spacecraft passing near the Sun and Mercury has to be kept very fast. If this is not done, the spacecraft will be pulled into a solar eclipse like a burning furnace and sunk into the sun. Because of this, only two spacecraft have been able to visit Mercury so far. The joint European-Japanese mission, known as 'Bepi' Colombo, is the third spacecraft to approach Mercury.

Who was Giuseppe "Bappi" Colombo?

Various space missions are usually named after well-known astronomers. From Nancy Grace Roman to Edwin Hubble, the name has been associated with the space explorer Space Probe. One more name in this list is Giuseppe 'Bepi' Colombo. Giuseppe Bappi Colombo was born on October 12 in Padua, Italy. He was a well-known scientific mathematician and engineer. He studied mathematics from the University of Pizza. And finally from here he returned home to become a professor of applied mechanics.

In a conference held on the 19th, he declared that 'more than one flying visit to Mercury could be arranged. For which the gravitational force of Venus can be used. ' From this conference he became famous in science circles overnight. In addition to Mercury, Colombo also studied the ring of Saturn. The space between the rings of Saturn is named after him. He also developed a satellite tethering system. Helped the European Space Agency in the planning and development of the space mission 'Giotto' sent for Haley's comet.

They have patents for gravity-gradometers and sky hooks that can be used in space science. Mathematician Bepi Colombo calculated various orbits and calculations to show that after a spacecraft made a flyby over Mercury, it went into orbit around the Sun for 12 days. Fortunately the period, the 7-day Mercury, is exactly twice the year. Which makes it easier for the spacecraft to return to Mercury repeatedly with only a small orbital change. From his name, an asteroid also got his name. Unfortunately, before his new idea could be implemented, he died of cancer at the age of 16.

Mission "Bepi-Colombo"

Bepi 'Colombo', which will reach the regular orbit of Mercury in 202, will reach its destination after a seven-year journey. The European Space Agency has created a spacecraft for the entire voyage. This is known as Mercury Transfer Module (SSS). A 20 feet long solar panel has been installed to supply electricity to scientific instruments. Mercury transfer module and 12 scientific instruments are arranged on two orbiters. ૩ Selfie cameras are installed. It sends various images taken with the help of camera to the earth. Selfie images taken from the camera are in black and white, two arbitrators are arranged in the Mercury transfer module. An orbiter is made by Japan. While the second orbiter is built by the European Space Agency.

For the first time, two orbiters have been arranged in the same spacecraft. Thus the spacecraft of this mission has a unique triune confluence. Reaching the fixed orbit of Mercury, both orbiters will orbit Mercury independently. Bepi-Colombo passed 1,200 kilometers from Earth in April 2020 and said goodbye to the planet Earth. When the mission made a flying visit to Venus in October 2020 and August 2021, it was 1,050 kilometers away from Venus. Most recently, on October 1, 2021, he made a flyby visit to Mercury.

In 205, Bepi-Colombo will reach a fixed orbit, having previously made six flying visits to Mercury. The purpose of the Bepi-Colombo mission is primarily to understand the birth and evolution of Mercury. The mission will try to find out the structure of the planet Mercury, its geology, the craters above it, the structure of the rocks, etc. Scientists will also have the opportunity to study Mercury's atmosphere and its magnetic field. The theory of relativity given to Albert Einstein will also be tested by various scientific instruments. The space mission is named after the Italian scientist Giuseppe 'Bepi' Colombo. Who was that