Mercury-Bound Satellite Slingshots Around Earth Today

by Joel Hruska

It’s been a few years since we’ve talked about BepiColombo, the joint ESA / JAXA spacecraft headed for Mercury. When last we checked in with the probe, scientists were testing its ion drive. BepiColombo features the most powerful ion engine ever built. On Friday morning, the probe will use Earth as a gravitational slingshot to both accelerate and alter its…