Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Credit: ESA

Venus is getting a once-over…no wait. Venus is getting a twice-over!

Two separate spacecraft are making dual flybys just 33 hours apart on August 9 and August 10.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo probes both need a gravitational swingby to reach their ultimate destinations

BepiColombo is on its way to Mercury; Solar Orbiter is en route to view the Sun’s poles.

BepiColombo
Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

Observations

It is not possible to take high-resolution imagery of Venus with the science cameras onboard either mission. However, two of BepiColombo’s three monitoring cameras will be taking photos around the time of close approach and in the days after as the planet fades from view. Furthermore, there may be an opportunity for Solar Orbiter’s SoloHI imager to observe the nightside of Venus in the week before closest approach.

Solar Orbiter
Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

Additionally, both Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter will collect data on the magnetic and plasma environment of Venus from different locations.

The data collected during the flybys will also provide useful inputs to ESA’s future Venus orbiter, EnVision, which was selected earlier this year and will launch to Venus in the 2030s.