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Bepicolombo's Mission to Mercury
#1
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45838991

This article discusses the joint mission to Mercury by the Japanese (JAXA) and European (ESA) space agencies. This endeavor is named "BepiColombo" named after the late Italian engineer, mathematician and scientist of the same name. This mission will allow scientists study Mercury up close for an extended period of time. The probe will reach Mercury in seven years time. BepiColombo has to take a circular path towards Mercury or else it will not be able to stop at the planet, instead flying by it and into the Sun. This missions purpose is to study the mysteries of Mercury, with one of the most puzzling mysteries being the over sized iron core Mercury has. This core makes up 60% of Mercury's mass. 

Once Mercury is reached, the JAXA and ESA components of the probe have different roles. JAXA's priority is to measure and collect data and behavior of Mercury's magnetic field. The ESA's instrument's job is to collect data on surface terrain and composition. This data combined will hopefully help answer questions scientists have about the planet, and how it came to be. The probe also has to be insulated greatly, because it has to withstand 400°C heat from the Sun. 

I think this mission between JAXA and the ESA will be beneficial because it will not only help scientists learn about how Mercury was formed, but it will also help scientists understand our planet, and solar system as a whole. The article states the mission is about £3 billion over budget, from the original £1.65 billion granted. Taking into account that this venture is being carried out by two countries, I think the mission is worth the cost. If the probe collects a lot of useful data, scientist may learn lots of crucial information about the planet.
#2
I agree that it is important for us to understand the planets within our solar system. A lot of the data collected by the "BepiColombo" mission is about the composition of Mercury. Many people would argue that funds should not be used to explore space because we have many problems on our our own planet, that or unsolved. Some of these problems include the lack of resources. What some people may not understand is that our planet's resources are not all renewable. By exploring our neighboured plants, we may be able to discover crucial information of a resource on their surface, from the data collected, that is useful to our civilization. Also, I agree that our knowledge on the composition of the solar system will increase. This will help us understand our place in the universe even more, which can lead to more technological advancements. More technology, although having different perspectives, can help solve more of humanities problems on Earth.
#3
I believe that space exploration is our word’s “plan B” because we already have so many problems in regards to our climate changing and whether or not we will be able to save our world. Providing funding to technologies that help us explore space as well providing funds over actually explore space is essentially going to help our population in the long run. As mentioned above not all people will agree with the escalating budget but in my opinion it’s worth it. I believe this mission will provide scientists with so much useful information about our solar system. It will be interesting to see first of all what information is gathered from this mission but also how the information collected will be used to help our world in present day as well as future generations where our current global issues could be at an even more threatening level.
#4
(10-22-2018, 12:30 PM)Blake Cherpin Wrote: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45838991

This article discusses the joint mission to Mercury by the Japanese (JAXA) and European (ESA) space agencies. This endeavor is named "BepiColombo" named after the late Italian engineer, mathematician and scientist of the same name. This mission will allow scientists study Mercury up close for an extended period of time. The probe will reach Mercury in seven years time. BepiColombo has to take a circular path towards Mercury or else it will not be able to stop at the planet, instead flying by it and into the Sun. This missions purpose is to study the mysteries of Mercury, with one of the most puzzling mysteries being the over sized iron core Mercury has. This core makes up 60% of Mercury's mass. 

Once Mercury is reached, the JAXA and ESA components of the probe have different roles. JAXA's priority is to measure and collect data and behavior of Mercury's magnetic field. The ESA's instrument's job is to collect data on surface terrain and composition. This data combined will hopefully help answer questions scientists have about the planet, and how it came to be. The probe also has to be insulated greatly, because it has to withstand 400°C heat from the Sun. 

I think this mission between JAXA and the ESA will be beneficial because it will not only help scientists learn about how Mercury was formed, but it will also help scientists understand our planet, and solar system as a whole. The article states the mission is about £3 billion over budget, from the original £1.65 billion granted. Taking into account that this venture is being carried out by two countries, I think the mission is worth the cost. If the probe collects a lot of useful data, scientist may learn lots of crucial information about the planet.
I agree with you that this mission to Mercury is well worth the expenses being paid. Out of all the planets in our solar system, Mercury is the closest to the Sun, and, when compared to a planet such as Mars or Venus, not a lot is known about it. Knowing more about our solar system and the planets in it can help us to understand the mystery about how life began (though there are many theories, including "The Big Bang". Though our own planet has many problems of its own to deal with, I believe that it is our duty as humans to find out as much as we can about the planets and the universe around us.


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