On March 6, 2018, the BepiColombo engineering model was delivered to the ESA Mission Control Center in Darmstadt (Germany).
BepiColombo is the first ESA mission for Mercury. It is based on two spacecraft: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (11 experiments and instruments) and the Japanese Merne Magnetospheric Orbiter (5 experiments and instruments).
The engineering model has a three-dimensional model of the ESA module and a model of the data transmission module with a flat screen connecting the modules of ESA and Japan during their flight to Mercury. The photo of March 7 shows the installation work from inside the module. From the compartment looks out Stanislav Ballardt. The engineering model is an electrically accurate replication of the most important elements of the main platform of a spacecraft and flight control systems, such as a computer, mass memory, and the power grid.
Flight controllers use the model throughout the mission to test software and functionality before loading onto a real spacecraft. Also with its help you can practice the flight.
