BepiColombo heading towards Mercury

After launch in 2014, the BepiColombo composite spacecraft will start its six-year interplanetary journey to Mercury.

A mission to the inner Solar System is extremely challenging from the technical point of view: not only will the spacecraft have to survive and operate in the very hot environment around a planet so close to the Sun, but it will also require a large amount of energy to brake against the Sun’s gravity and enter into orbit around Mercury.