APOD: 2022 June 28 - Mercury from Passing BepiColombo

Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the June 28th edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "Mercury from Passing BepiColombo." Longtime NASA junkies may remember the Messenger spacecraft (NASA's last mission to Mercury in 2004). I won't ask who remembers Mariner 10. Launched in 2018, BepiColombo is the first mission to Mercury for both the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It is scheduled to begin orbiting Mercury in 2025. Today's APOD is from BepiColombo as it passes by the innermost planet.