Terma Supports BepiColombo on Its Final Approach to Mercury

After an eight-year journey, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission is scheduled to enter orbit around Mercury on 21 November 2026. Terma has supported the mission from spacecraft development and testing to in-flight operations.

For the Mercury Transfer Module, Terma has developed and manufactured a 20-kW Power Conditioning and Distribution Unit. The unit manages power from solar arrays and supplies the spacecraft’s electric propulsion system and ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter throughout the journey to Mercury. It is designed to support reliable operations till the moment the Transfer Module separates from the Orbiter.

Before the launch, Terma contributed to BepiColombo’s testing. The testing included things such as the Central Checkout System, Power and TT&C Checkout Equipment. Solutions that support the verification of the spacecraft’s subsystems, scientific instruments, power systems and radio-frequency systems, ensuring that everything runs smoothly.

Terma is part of the industrial team behind the Mission Control System used at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt. The team contributed with mission-control support, system maintenance, simulations, flight dynamics and spacecraft operations, and paved the way for a successful Mercury in-orbit insertion. Terma specialists will continue to support the mission.

“BepiColombo demonstrates how reliability is built across the full mission lifecycle, from the development of the flight equipment and testing to mission control and operations. We are proud to support ESA and its partners as the mission approaches Mercury,” says Mats Warstedt, Senior Vice President, Space, Terma.

Also, when a power anomaly on BepiColombo was detected preventing the electric propulsion engines from operating at full thrust, Terma power specialists stepped in to play a key role within the joint ESA-industry response.

“A mission of this duration and complexity depends on reliable systems, thorough verification and long-term operational support. Terma has contributed with exceptional technical expertise, persistence and close cooperation with ESA and the satellite prime contractor Airbus. Terma’s specialists made an extraordinary contribution to that effort, and was a key part in safeguarding the mission, when it ran into problems with the power,” says Jose Aroca Aliaga, Spacecraft Electrical Lead, European Space Agency.

Terma’s involvement reflects its role as a trusted partner for long-duration space missions where technology and expertise must perform reliably over many years.