【Sisters Sex Scandal】

Mercury is Sisters Sex Scandala mystery.

Just two spacecraft have ever flown by the closest planet to the sun. Now the BepiColombo mission, a joint European-Japanese science undertaking, is on track to orbit and closely observe the cratered planet in 2025.

The endeavor, involving two research spacecraft hitching a ride on a larger vessel (the Mercury Transfer Module), just completed its first flyby of Mercury on Oct. 1, and it sent back black-and-white images of the planet from some 620 miles (1,000 km) to 1,500 miles (2418 km) above the planet's surface.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

"It was an incredible feeling seeing these almost-live pictures of Mercury," Valentina Galluzzi, a scientist working on the BepiColombo mission, said in a statement.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

The images show the instruments on the Mercury Transfer Module (which transports the mission's two orbiters to Mercury) in the foreground, and the detailed topography of Mercury's surface in the background.

An image taken from some 1,500 miles away from Mercury. Credit: esa / jaxa Craters identified on Mercury's surface. Credit: esa / jaxa Mercury's geology as viewed from above. Credit: esa / Jaxa

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Once BepiColombo starts orbiting Mercury in 2025 (after numerous flybys to fall into the planet's orbit), the probes will start researching the planet's elusive history.

"For example, [the mission] will map the surface of Mercury and analyse its composition to learn more about its formation," writes the European Space Agency. "One theory is that it may have begun as a larger body that was then stripped of most of its rock by a giant impact. This left it with a relatively large iron core, where its magnetic field is generated, and only a thin rocky outer shell."

SEE ALSO: The space race forged immortal rock and roll guitars

This outer shell is covered in ancient lava flows that have been pummeled by comets and asteroids for some 4 billion years. The next flyby, with images, happens on June 23, 2022.

• Games
• Digital Culture
• Shopping
• Life
• Social Good
• Tech
• Science
• Deals

• Fritz vs. Ruud 2025 livestream: Watch Madrid Open for free
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for August 27
• Is bisexual porn problematic?
• The Game of the Name: The Answers
• Philips now allows customers to 3D print replacement parts
• Evliya Çelebi’ Is One of History’s Great Storytellers
• Figs Have All the Answers
• How to watch Tulane vs. North Texas football without cable: kickoff time, streaming deals, and more
• The strangeness of Japan's decision to start openly hunting whales
• Michael Kidner’s “Visual Anarchy”

• How Terrifying a Ship on Fire Is—Robert Walser on Shipwrecks
• Are enrichment toys actually good for your dog?
• Crypto scammers are filling inboxes with fake 'donate to Ukraine' emails
• Listen to a William Carlos Williams Radio Interview from 1950
• How The Old Farmer’s Almanac Predicted the Information Age
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for October 6, 2023
• 100 Years Ago, Cinema Saw Its First Nude
• On Daphne du Maurier’s “Monte Verità”
• Viral TikTok recipe for twisted bacon is a pointless waste of time, even if it's tasty
• Staff Picks: Mary Beard, David Bowie, M.F.K. Fisher

• Every MCU movie villain ranked, from "Iron Man" to "Thunderbolts*"
• The Landlord from Ioway: James Alan McPherson, 1943–2016
• How to watch Auburn vs. Ole Miss football without cable: kickoff time, streaming deals, and more
• How to watch LSU vs. Army football without cable: kickoff time, streaming deals, and more
• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for April 26: Tips to solve Connections #215
• Tinder for readers: Klerb is the new social app based on books you love
• How to watch Indiana vs. Rutgers football without cable: kickoff time, streaming deals, and more
• Subscribe to The Paris Review with Your Book Club for 25% Off
• Trump signs AI education order to train K
• How to watch Auburn vs. Ole Miss football without cable: kickoff time, streaming deals, and more

• Best robot vacuum deal: Save $140 on roborock Q7 Max Robot Vacuum
• Meta's Horizon Worlds faces tough Twitter criticism
• Why TikTok is the latest landing page for a young generation of smut readers
• Prime Member deal: HP All
• One of Android's Easter Eggs is a Flappy Bird
• Keith Haring’s Book of Penis Drawings Is Better Than It Sounds
• The Corpse Flower’s Indifferent, Cosmic Energy
• The Corpse Flower’s Indifferent, Cosmic Energy
• Amazon Book Sale: Shop early deals now
• Michael Kidner’s “Visual Anarchy”