European-Japanese Space Mission Gets First Glimpse of Mercury

This image made available by the European Space Agency (ESA) shows planet Mercury taken by the joint European-Japanese BepiColombo spacecraft Mercury Transfer Module’s Monitoring Camera 2, on Oct. 1, 2021. ESA via AP

BERLIN—A joint European-Japanese spacecraft got its first glimpse of Mercury as it swung by the solar system’s innermost planet while on a mission to deliver two probes into orbit in 2025.

The BepiColombo mission made the first of six flybys of Mercury at 7:34 p.m. EST Friday, using the planet’s gravity to slow the spacecraft down.