BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mio (Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, MMO). The mission will perform a comprehensive study of Mercury, including characterization of its magnetic field, magnetosphere, and both interior and surface structure. It was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket on 20 October 2018 at 01:45 UTC, with arrival at Mercury planned for on 5 December 2025, after a flyby of Earth, two flybys of Venus, and six flybys of Mercury.

About the speaker: Prof. Emma Bunce

I grew up in Worthing where and attended Davison C of E High School for Girls between 1988 and 1992, and Worthing VIth Form College between 1992 and 1994. Following my A-levels I studied for a Masters degree in Physics with Space Science and Technology at the University of Leicester from 1994 to 1998.

Following the successful completion of my four-year degree, I obtained a PhD place and began studying the magnetosphere of Jupiter under the excellent supervision and guidance of Professor Stan Cowley. I was awarded my PhD in 2001 for my thesis entitled “Large-scale current systems in the Jovian Magnetosphere”. In 2003 I was awarded a PPARC Post-doctoral Fellowship to study Saturn’s magnetosphere, I was then appointed to the Department’s lecturing staff in 2005, and have enjoyed teaching undergraduates ever since. In 2009 I was promoted to Reader, and in 2013 I was promoted to Professor. To date, I have published ~120 papers in the scientific literature and my work has received national and international recognition. I won the Royal Astronomical Society’s prize for best PhD thesis (2002), the Prix Baron Nicolet award for Space Physics (2003), the European Geophysical Union’s Young Talents in Geoscience award (2005). I gave the RAS Sir Harold Jeffrey’s Lecture in 2009, and was awarded a Philip Leverhulme prize for “Astronomy and Astrophysics” in 2011. In 2018 I won the Royal Astronomical Society's Chapman Medal. I regularly give public talks on "solar system" topics such as "The Cassini Mission to Saturn", "Oceans, Ices, and Fire: The Mysterious Moons of Jupiter", and "Auroral Processes at the Outer Planets".