欧洲空间局与日本航天局联合研制的BepiColombo探测器于周四与母舰分离，继续其近十年的水星探险旅程1。该探测器已行进超过60亿英里（100亿公里），距离目标水星仍有200万英里（330万公里）的路程1。
根据任务计划，BepiColombo预计将于2025年11月进入水星轨道，随后于12月分离为两个独立航天器，在不同高度进行观测研究1。最后一次行星际飞掠已于2025年1月进行1，科学观测工作预计从明年春季正式启动1。这项耗资20亿美元（17亿欧元）的任务以参与美国航天局1970年代水星10号任务的意大利数学家命名1。
首席项目科学家Geraint Jones表示"这是一个辉煌的时刻"1，任务经理Santa Martinez则指出"水星虽然很小，但仍然蕴含着太阳系最大的谜团"1。
The BepiColombo mission, a joint endeavor between the European Space Agency and Japan's space agency, released its mothership on Thursday to continue its nearly decade-long journey to Mercury.1 After traveling more than 6 billion miles, the spacecraft remains approximately 2 million miles from its destination and is expected to enter Mercury's orbit in November 2025.1 The mission will culminate in December 2025 when BepiColombo separates into two independent orbiters to conduct observations at different altitudes around the planet.1
The final planetary flyby of the mission occurred in January 2025, marking a crucial milestone before arrival.1 With a total cost of $2 billion, the ambitious exploration aims to unlock some of the solar system's greatest mysteries surrounding Mercury.1 Scientific observations are anticipated to begin in spring 2026.1 Mission manager Santa Martinez emphasized the significance of the endeavor, noting that "Mercury is tiny, yet it holds some of the biggest mysteries of our solar system."1 The mission, named after Italian mathematician Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo who contributed to NASA's Mariner 10 mission to Mercury in the 1970s, represents a major milestone in planetary exploration.1
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