The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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Video footage from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou showing the three BepiColombo spacecraft modules being 'stacked' in launch configuration.
BepiColombo is a joint endeavour between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. The mission comprises two science orbiters: ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter. The ESA-built Mercury Transfer Module will carry the orbiters to Mercury using a combination of solar electric propulsion and gravity assist flybys. It is the first European mission to Mercury, the smallest and least explored planet in the inner Solar System, and the first to send two spacecraft to make complementary measurements of the planet and its dynamic environment at the same time.
The mission is scheduled to launch on 20 October 2018 at 01:45 GMT. Watch live: www.esa.int/live