Bedtime Astronomy
Bedtime Astronomy
Synthetic Universe
BepiColombo Finally Awakens: The Instrument About to Map Mercury in 3D
40 minutes Posted Sep 17, 2026 at 9:01 am.
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After nearly a decade asleep in space, a crucial instrument aboard the BepiColombo mission has finally been switched on.

The BELA laser altimeter survived years of extreme conditions and is now ready to map Mercury’s surface in unprecedented detail. When BepiColombo reaches its science orbit in 2027,

BELA will help create the most precise 3D maps ever made of the Solar System’s innermost planet. But what can these new maps reveal about the mysterious world closest to the Sun?

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