「みお」軌道変更成功　水星探査機、地球重力で―ＪＡＸＡ

　宇宙航空研究開発機構（ＪＡＸＡ）は２１日、日本の水星探査機「みお」などが１０日に行った地球の重力による軌道変更（スイングバイ）が成功したと発表した。
　みおと、結合した欧州の水星表面探査機（ＭＰＯ）が１０日午後１時２５分（日本時間）ごろ、南大西洋の上空約１万２７００キロを通過し、予定の軌道に乗ったことが確認された。（2020/04/21-16:23）

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said Tuesday a spacecraft in a Japan-Europe joint mission succeeded in swinging by Earth on April 10 to head for Mercury.
   The BepiColombo spacecraft, which comprises JAXA'S Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, called Mio, the European Space Agency's Mercury Planetary Orbiter and a transfer module to provide solar-electric propulsion, passed some 12,700 kilometers above the South Atlantic Ocean at 1:25 p.m. Japan time (4:25 a.m. GMT) on April 10 and put itself on the track to the closest planet to the sun by using Earths gravity, according to the agency.
   Launched on an Arian 5 rocket in October 2018, the spacecraft is scheduled to arrive in Mercury's orbit at the end of 2025 after using Venus and the target planet as other gravitational slingshots.