The BepiColombo spacecraft has made its sixth and final flyby of the closest planet to the sun, Mercury, capturing some incredible images of the tiny world. The photos offer tantalizing hints about some of the mysteries BepiColombo will investigate when it moves into orbit around the planet next year.
The joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission made its latest passage of Mercury on Wednesday (Jan. 8) at 00: 59 EDT (0259 GMT).
During the flyby, BepiColombo, which was launched on Oct. 20, 2018, came to within around 185 miles (295 kilometers) of Mercury's nightside, facing away from the sun. Around seven minutes later, the ESA/JAXA spacecraft flew over the tiny planet's north pole.
