BepiColombo Separates Transfer Module in First Step of Mercury Arrival
ESA and JAXA's BepiColombo mission successfully detached its Mercury Transfer Module on 3 September 2026, opening one of the most complex planetary arrival sequences attempted by ESA.
AfroEuropa Newsroom
AfroEuropa desk
The joint European-Japanese BepiColombo mission has taken its first critical step toward reaching Mercury, with the successful separation of its Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) from the rest of the spacecraft stack.
According to the European Space Agency, the BepiColombo Mission Control Team at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) confirmed the separation on 3 September 2026 at 15:49 CEST, when it received the awaited signal from the spacecraft. The event marks the beginning of the mission's arrival at Mercury.
The mission is run jointly by ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). After eight years travelling together through the inner Solar System, the MTM detached from the stacked spacecraft. ESA has described the sequence now under way as one of the most complex planetary arrivals it has ever attempted.
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