The BepiColombo spacecraft, which recently concluded its first flyby of Mercury in early October, has presented us with the gift of the first sound from Mercury. The audio associated with the spacecraft was converted into a sonification from the data gathered by BepiColombo. Jointly made by engineers from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA), the mission is a first step towards studying the first planet of our solar system.

Listen to the otherworldy sound here:

First sound from the closest planet to the sun

According to the ESA’s report, the engineers have converted the audio from the data collected by the BepiColombo spacecraft from its flyby that was conducted on October 2. The agency explained that the sonification of data gathered by the Mercury Planetary Orbiter captured the changing intensity of the magnetic field and solar wind endured by Mercury. These sounds reportedly were from the moment the spacecraft crossed Mercury’s highly turbulent boundary region between the solar wind and the magnetosphere around the planet.

BepiColombo’s flyby

The recent flyby conducted by the spacecraft was just the first of a total of six flybys that it will undergo in the coming months. The spacecraft reached Mercury after successfully passing Venus on August 10 and will conduct a total of nine flybys till 2025, as per the ESA. 

The most recent one over Mercury saw BepiColombo endure the planet’s gravitation from an altitude of just 199 kilometres and snapped stunning images of the planet’s crater with the help of its black-and-white navigation camera Mercury Transfer Module Monitoring Camera 2. Take a look at the images beamed by the spacecraft. 

Detailing the image, ESA explained, “The region shown is part of Mercury’s northern hemisphere including Sihtu Planitia that has been flooded by lavas. A round area smoother and brighter than its surroundings characterizes the plains around the Calvino crater, which are called the Rudaki Plains.” Brought into existence at a cost of $750 million, the mission aims to thoroughly study Mercury and its origin and evolution so close to the sun. Also including the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter built by JAXA, the spacecraft will examine Mercury’s core, surface, magnetic field as well as exosphere. 

(Image: @ESAOperations/Twitter)