Enigmatic planet Mercury posed for some closeups when the BepiColombo mission flew by. Craters, bright regions and volcanic plains star in the best views from the flyby.

The BepiColombo mission successfully completed its sixth flyby of the innermost planet, moving closer to its final goal of entering its orbit.

BepiColombo made its sixth and final flyby of Mercury on Wed (Jan. 8) capturing images of the tiny planet hinting at the mysteries it will soon investigate.

The BepiColombo spacecraft has sent back some incredibly detailed images of Mercury’s north pole. The snapshots were collected during its closest ever flyby of our solar system’s smallest planet. You can check out the awe-inspiring images below.

In 2026, the Bepicolombo Mercury Transfer Module will return to Mercury once again to release the ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, aiming to spend 2027 collecting data from their individual altitudes and orientations above the planet.