Fingers crossed for my friends in the ESA #BepiColombo mission operations team & colleagues from industry as they work to restore the solar electric propulsion system to full power 🤞
The SEP system is critical to adjust Bepi’s trajectory between the various Mercury flybys, slowing the spacecraft down ahead of entry into orbit around this enigmatic innermost planet in December 2025.
@markmccaughrean Should the team continue to encounter difficulties might I suggest a call out to this organisation? They have a proven track record in making on-site repairs somewhere in that vicinity...
@AlexSanterne The SEP system has been glitchy for a while, AFAIK, but there is redundancy & I'm hopeful that they will be able to recover full operational capability and/or work on new options for getting into Mercury orbit.
But this is speculation on my part now, as I'm no longer in the loop.
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