BepiColombo on the launch pad

The BepiColombo mission to Mercury sits on the launch pad at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, ahead of its scheduled liftoff at 01:45 GMT on 20 October. Watch live: livestream.com/ESA/BepiColomboLaunch

BepiColombo is a joint endeavour between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA.