The European Space Agency reported on September 7, 2026, that BepiColombo had separated its Mercury Transfer Module at 15:49 CEST on September 3, with confirmation subsequently received by ground stations. Since launch in 2018, the transfer module had provided cruise propulsion and power through roughly 9.9 billion kilometres of travel and multiple planetary flybys. The separation moved the mission into its Mercury-arrival sequence. Further attitude and orbit-control activities are still required before ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter can enter their respective Mercury orbits. ESA describes the event as the start of arrival, not completion of orbit insertion. The separation occurred on September 3 and the detailed ESA update was published on September 7. Planned manoeuvres and illustrative distance totals are not presented as completed orbital milestones beyond what the agency confirmed.
International space · Space technology
BepiColombo Separates Its Transfer Module as Mercury Arrival Begins
ESA confirmed that BepiColombo separated its Mercury Transfer Module on September 3 and that ground stations received confirmation. The manoeuvre ended the cruise stage's eight-year role and began the spacecraft's Mercury-arrival sequence.
Deep space explorationMercury exploration
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