This flyby will also be the first to take BepiColombo over Mercury’s poles, helping to adjust the spacecraft’s trajectory to match that of Mercury, which is inclined compared to Earth’s orbit. We expect to be able to share BepiColombo's first stunning views of the planet’s south pole.

The first images will be downlinked a few hours after closest approach and are expected to be released on 5 September. The closest images are expected to reveal large craters, wrinkle ridges, lava plains and much more, helping scientists unlock the secrets of Mercury’s 4.6-billion-year history and its place in the evolution of the Solar System.

All images are scheduled to be released publicly in the Planetary Science Archive later in September. The first science results from data collected during the flyby will be released on 13 September.

Follow @esascience and @bepicolombo on X (formerly Twitter) for the latest updates, together with @ESA_Bepi, @ESA_MTM and @JAXA_MMO.

Image release timings are subject to change depending on actual spacecraft events and image availability.

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