BepiColombo spacecraft begins final approach to Mercury after eight-year journey

A multinational consortium of planetary scientists announced today the launch of the OriginQuest mission, a multi‑year research program aimed at uncovering the formation history of Earth and its geological evolution. “Fundamentally, we want to learn about the origins of this planet and how it came to be like it is,” said Dr. Elena Martínez, the project’s lead investigator, during a briefing at the International Space Science Forum. The initiative will integrate data from satellite observations, deep‑sea drilling cores, and advanced computer simulations to reconstruct the sequence of events that shaped the planet’s mantle, crust, and atmosphere over billions of years.

The program, funded by contributions from ten national space agencies and several academic institutions, will deploy a series of high‑resolution orbital sensors and coordinate with existing lunar and Martian exploration assets to compare Earth’s development with that of its celestial neighbors. Results are expected to be published in peer‑reviewed journals beginning in 2028, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding planetary habitability and informing future exploration strategies.