E' partita durante la notte tra venerdì e sabato la missione spaziale "BepiColombo", diretta verso Mercurio. E' intitolata ad un valente astrofisico e matematico italiano, medaglia d'oro della NASA. La sonda è stata lanciata con un missile "Ariane 5" dalla base di Kourou, nella Guyana francese.
Ideata dalle agenzie spaziali di Europa (ESA) e Giappone (JAXA), la missione dovrà scoprire i segreti dell’astro meno noto del Sistema Solare e più vicino al Sole. Raggiunta la posizione ottimale sull’orbita, il veicolo spaziale in cui sono assemblati i moduli della sonda denominati MCS (Mercury Composite Spacecraft) inizierà il cammino verso Mercurio.
La sonda dispiegherà poi i pannelli solari utili per un viaggio durante il quale in sette anni attraverserà il Sistema Solare, prendendo la spinta necessaria grazie alle rotazioni: prima intorno alla Terra, quindi per due volte attorno a Venere e infine per sei volte intorno a Mercurio, che raggiungerà a fine 2025. Analizzerà poi geofisica, atmosfera e magnetosfera del pianeta.
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