BepiColombo departed Earth on October 20, 2018 and completed its first Venus flyby in October 2020. The first and second Mercury flybys are foreseen for October 2021 and June 2022.
During the cruise phase the BepiColombo plasma particle instruments will produce only limited data. The cruise phase is therefore ideal to fully exploit the community’s state-of-the-art simulation tools and, validated by MESSENGER measurements, improve our understanding of the Hermean plasma environment before the nominal mission starts in early 2026. Our project will allow the community to optimally prepare for both the nominal mission and the six Mercury flybys planned during the interplanetary cruise phase. We will provide more accurate predictions, provide missing links between plasma theory, measurements and models, and enhance the overall science return of the BepiColombo mission in general.