TIL MAY BANK HOLS

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BepiColombo Structural Thermal Model 1
© Science Museum
BEPICOLOMBO LANDS AT THE
SCIENCE MUSEUM
The Science Museum has unveiled a
full-size engineering model of
BepiColombo, the European Space
Agency’s first ever spacecraft to explore
Mercury, and one of the most
challenging planetary missions ever
launched.
Standing over 6 metres tall, this
Structural Thermal Model (STM) of the
spacecraft has been used to test
BepiColombo’s resilience to vibration at
launch and extremes of temperature
during its seven-year journey to
Mercury.
This is a unique opportunity for the
public to get a close-up look at an
integral component of a space mission’s
development programme. The model has
been subjected to temperatures ranging
from -190°C to 400°C, recreating the
conditions the spacecraft will face when
in shade and when in the illuminated
face of Mercury.
Visitors will be able see the
handstitched insulation blankets
specifically designed to protect
BepiColombo’s instruments and
electronics from the intensity of the
Sun’s heat, and peer inside the body of
the spacecraft to see some of its internal
components. The folded solar panel
wing on display matches two of the three
that will be on BepiColombo when it
travels to Mercury, this pair extend to
30 metres when fully deployed. The
panels will generate all of the mission’s
electrical power.
Günther Hasinger, Director of Science
at the European Space Agency, said:
‘BepiColombo is definitely one of the
most complex scientific missions
developed by ESA, in cooperation with
our Japanese partners, and we are all very
excited to see it leave for Mercury soon. It
is thrilling to know that the public can
now also get a sense of the scale of this
endeavour through this full-size, real-life
exhibit at the Science Museum.’
Visitors can also hear from engineers
and scientists who have helped design
and develop the spacecraft and its
scientific instruments on a video
accompanying the model about why the
BepiColombo mission is so important
and so challenging.
LEE BUL AT HAYWARD GALLERY
A mid-career survey of the work of
acclaimed artist Lee Bul – the first in
London – explores the artist’s extensive
investigation into the body and its
relationship to architectural space.
Over the past 30 years, Lee Bul has
explored questions of intimacy, gender,
technology and class through a focus on
the body. Drawing on science fiction,
bioengineering and visionary
architecture, as well as Japanese anime
and manga, her work includes
performance, drawing, painting and
large-scale immersive installations.
Born in South Korea in 1964 to leftist
parents at odds with the authoritarian
government then in power, Lee Bul spent
much of her childhood fleeing
persecution and moving between
temporary homes. Often feeling like an
outsider in these new environments, she
found relief in drawing and in making.
Lee Bul has had major solo
exhibitions at galleries across the world.
She lives and works in Seoul, from a
hilltop studio overlooking the city below.
BOATS ON THE MOVE AT THE RAF MUSEUM
2018 marks the centenary of the Royal Air Force and the award-winning
RAF Museum is set to welcome visitors into a newly transformed London site when
it formally reopens on Saturday 30 June. The Museum’s ambitious redevelopment
features new immersive galleries, freshly landscaped green spaces, a children’s
playground and new restaurant, making it the only place in London where visitors
can test their flying skills, explore RAF stories, sit inside an iconic cockpit and enjoy
a picnic in a single day. www.rafmuseum.org
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