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BepiColombo
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| BepiColombo (cruise configuration) | BepiColombo (patch) |
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BepiColombo
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| BepiColombo (cruise configuration) | BepiColombo (patch) |
This page contains philatelic information on the BepiColombo spacecraft. Catalog numbers, years of issue, and notes are given when available. If readers know of additional information or images, please contact the authors using the e-mail addresses at the bottom of this page.
BepiColombo was named after Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo (1920–1984), the Italian scientist who first proposed the planetary "slingshot" gravity assist technique now often used by interplanetary spacecraft. The mission consists of four components. There are three separate spacecraft (the Mercury Planet Orbiter (MPO), the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), and the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM)). The fourth component, the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter's Sunshild and Interface Structure (MOSIF), is a protective cover for the MMO. JAXA (Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency) built the MMO. The other three were built by the ESA (European Space Agency). The MTM is carrying the other components in a 7-year voyage to Mercury, where they will separate on a planned date of 5 December 2025, with the MPO and MMO going into two different orbits around the planet. When together in the voyage to Mercury, the ensemble can be referred to as "BepiColombo in cruise configuration".
| Launch information (found elsewhere) |
Launch covers (including anniversary-of-launch covers, and launch-related event covers) (farther below) |
Other postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.) (immediately below) |
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| BepiColombo (ESA-JAXA) | BepiColombo (ESA-JAXA) | BepiColombo (ESA-JAXA) |
Below is a list of BepiColombo spacecraft postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.).
| Country | Catalog Number | Type of Item | Year of Issue | Notes on Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BepiColombo (ESA-JAXA) | ||||
| Benin | Unknown d (Mi none) Unknown id | One of MS4 (a-d) [known illegal issue] One of imperforate MS4 (a-d) | 2014 | "BepiColombo" (cruise configuration) |
| Benin | Unknown a-d fdc | One of four stamps on FDC | ||
| Benin | Unknown d proof Unknown id proof | One of MS4 proof (a-d) One of imperforate MS4 proof (a-d) | ||
| Benin | Unknown ms proof | Signed-proof MS4 (a-d) | ||
| Benin | Unknown ms proof fdc Unknown ims proof fdc | MS4 proof on FDC Imperforate MS4 proof on FDC | ||
| Benin | Unknown ss (BL none) Unknown iss | SS1 [known illegal issue] Imperforate SS1 | 2018 | "BepiColombo launch" (in French text); MMO, MOSIF and MPO separating from MTM (in stamp); MPO (lower orbit) and MMO (higher orbit) (in the lower-right margin); MPO (in FDC cachet) |
| Benin | Unknown fdc | SS1 and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC | ||
| Burundi | BL498A BL498B | In (upper-left and upper-right) margins of MS2 (Mi3480A-3481A) In (upper-left and upper-right) margins of imperforate MS2 (Mi3480B-3481B) | 2014 | Bepi Colombo (cruise configuration) |
| Burundi | BL501A BL501B | In (upper-right) margin of SS1 (Mi3481A) In (upper-right) margin of imperforate SS1 (Mi3481B) | "sonde Beppi-Colombo" [note two 'p's] (cruise configuration) | |
| Djibouti | Unknown ms (Mi none) | On (left) stamp and in (upper-left) margin of MS2 (a-b) [known illegal issue] | 2014 | "BepiColombo" (cruise configuration) and logo |
| Djibouti | Unknown fdc | MS2 on FDC | ||
| Djibouti | Unknown iss (BL none) | Imperforate SS1 [known illegal issue] | ||
| France | None | (Lettre-verte) personalized postage, from booklet of 10 (10x single) | 2018 | "Bepi Colombo" (cruise configuration) |
| France | None | (Lettre-verte) personalized postage (different), from booklet of 10 (10x single) | ||
| France | None | (Lettre-verte) personalized postage, from booklet of 10 (10x single) | 2023 | "Bepi Colombo"(3rd gravitational assist from Mercury) |
| Gabon | Unknown c (Mi none) Unknown ic | From MS4 (a-d) [known illegal issue] From imperforate MS4 (a-d) | 2015 | "BepiColombo" tracking (stamp 'c') and depicted in cruise configuration (stamp 'd' and in the cachet of Unknown ims FDC) |
| Gabon | Unknown d (Mi none) Unknown id | |||
| Gabon | Unknown essay | MS4 (a-d) essay | ||
| Gabon | Unknown ms fdc Unknown ims fdc | MS4 on FDC Imperforate MS4 and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC | ||
| Gabon | Unknown a-d fdc | Two of four stamps on FDC | ||
| Gabon | Unknown a (Mi none) | One of MS4 (a-d) [known illegal issue] | 2017 | "BepiColombo" MPO |
| Gabon | Unknown ms (Mi none) | MS4 (a-d) [known illegal issue] | 2018 | "BepiColombo" four mission components (MTM, MPO, MOSIF and MMO) in two different exploded views (in left margin); MMO separating from the "BepiColombo" cruise configuration ensemble (stamp 'a'); "Mercury Planetary Orbiter" (stamp 'b'); "Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter" (stamp 'c'); "BepiColombo" in cruise configuration and "MPO - ESA" and "MMO - JAXA" (stamp 'd') |
| Gabon | Unknown ss (BL none) | SS1 [known illegal issue] | MMO separating from the "BepiColombo" cruise configuration ensemble (upper-left margin); "BepiColombo" launch depiction, and artistic, logo-style drawing of "BepiColombo" in cruise configuration (in the stamp) | |
| Germany | None | (BiberPost) private post | 2018 | "BepiColombo" MMO (upper-right, in the red orbit) and MPO (lower-center, in the yellow orbit) |
| Germany | None fdc | (BiberPost) private post and (pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC | (As above for the stamp); "BepiColombo" MPO (at right in cancel) and MMO (at left in cancel); and "BepiColombo" in cruise configuration (in cachet) | |
| Italy | None | (Multi-color printed) cachet on aerogramme | 1992 | "Giuseppe Colombo, 1920-1984" (his nickname "Bepi Colombo" was given to the Mercury exploration spacecraft BepiColombo) |
| Italy | None fdc | Aerogramme FDC | ||
| Madagascar | Unknown ms (Mi none) | MS4 (a-d) [known illegal issue] | 2018 | "BepiColombo" mission logo (lower-left margin) and French text with mission details (lower margin); "BepiColombo" in cruise configuration (stamps 'a' and 'd'); "BepiColombo" MPO (stamps 'b' and 'c') |
| Madagascar | Unknown ss (BL none) | SS1 [known illegal issue] | "BepiColombo" in cruise configuration (upper-left margin, incorrectly labeled as "Mercury Planetary Orbiter") and mission logo (upper-right margin) and "Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter" (antennas furled, in lower right margin); "BepiColombo" MPO (in center of stamp) and "MMO" (with antennas extended, in lower-left of stamp) | |
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | Unknown ss (BL none) Unknown iss | In (upper-right) margin of SS1 [known illegal issue] In (upper-right) margin of imperforate SS1 | 2005 | BepiColombo (cruise configuration) and logo; also "Giuseppe (Bepi) Colombo (1920 - 1984)" |
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | Unknown fdc | SS1 and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC | ||
Below is a list of BepiColombo spacecraft launch covers (including anniversary-of-launch covers, and launch-related event covers).
| Country | Cancel Date | Cancel Location | Type of Item | Notes on Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-10-20: BepiColombo (ESA-JAXA) | ||||
| United States | 2018-10-19 | Greenbelt MD | (Red Eagle) cachet on cover | BepiColombo launch |
| France | 2018-10-20 | Paris | (Lollini) cachet on cover | BepiColombo launch |
| BepiColombo (events) | ||||
| United States | 2020-04-10 | Pasadena CA | (Red Eagle) cachet on cover | "BepiColombo Mercury spacecraft Earth flyby" |
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