“Mio” is a Mercury exploration spacecraft developed jointly by Japan (JAXA) and Europe (ESA) as part of the BepiColombo mission, launched in 2018. Its purpose is to investigate Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun. Mio is designed to study Mercury’s magnetic field, magnetosphere, and interaction with the solar wind in detail. Due to its proximity to the Sun, MIO will conduct observations in a hot and harsh environment. It is hoped that elucidating Mercury’s environment and origin will provide clues to understanding the origins of the solar system.

Tohoku University is involved in the development of the Plasma Wave Investigation (PWI) and the Mercury Sodium Atmosphere Spectral Imager (MSASI). Image by JAXA
ISAS Mio project page