Spacecraft Flies Over Mercury’s North Pole and Captures Stunning Photos

January 10, 2025 TruthUSA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—A spacecraft has transmitted some of the most impressive close-up images of Mercury’s north pole.

The robotic explorer from Europe and Japan soared as close as 183 miles above the dark side of Mercury before flying directly over the planet’s north pole. The European Space Agency shared these breathtaking photos on Thursday, showcasing the craters that are permanently in shadow at the summit of our solar system’s smallest and innermost planet.

The cameras also captured views of neighboring volcanic plains and Mercury’s largest impact crater, which measures over 930 miles across.

The Mercury's north pole taken by the European-Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo. (European Space Agency via AP) — The north pole of Mercury captured by the European-Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo. Source: European Space Agency via AP

This flyby marked the sixth and final pass of Mercury for the BepiColombo spacecraft since its launch in 2018. This maneuver set the spacecraft on a trajectory to reach orbit around Mercury by late next year. The spacecraft is equipped with two orbiters, one developed by Europe and the other by Japan, which will orbit the planet’s poles.

Named in honor of the late Giuseppe (Bepi) Colombo, a noteworthy 20th-century Italian mathematician, the spacecraft pays tribute to Colombo’s contributions to NASA’s Mariner 10 mission to Mercury in the 1970s, as well as the Italian Space Agency’s tethered satellite project that flew aboard U.S. space shuttles two decades later.

By Marcia Dunn