ESA and Astrium sign the BepiColombo contract

On 18 January 2008 ESA and Astrium signed the industrial contract to start the development of ESA´s BepiColombo mission to Mercury. The ceremony took place in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

From the left: ESA´s Director of Science, Prof. David Southwood; the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Guenther Oettinger; the CEO of Astrium Satellites, Evert Dudok.