APOD: 2024 September 16 – Mercurys Vivaldi Crater from BepiColombo

Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the September 16th edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). Our colleagues at the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched BepiColumbo in 2018, and it flew by Mercury this month ahead of its final destination orbit around our innermost planet in 2025. The focus of this image is the 130+ mile-wide Vivaldi Crater, which features two outer rings and a smooth floor. Scientists believe that a coincident asteroid impact and volcanic eruption may have been responsible for this crater's unique structure.

A bit more about the mission: BepiColombo is Europe's first mission to Mercury, and will end its seven-year journey to the smallest and least explored terrestrial planet in our Solar System next year. When it arrives at Mercury, it will endure continuous operating temperatures in excess of 600 °F. There are two separate spacecraft: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio). BepiColombo is a joint mission between ESA and JAXA.