Dual satellite mission to Mercury

BepiColombo is a joint European-Japanese initiative that will send two satellites to the planet Mercury, where they will separate to conduct different but complementary observations

ARIANE 5 ROCKET
Payload: Flight stack
MMO
MPO
MTM

Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO): Studies magnetic environement
Sun shield: Jettisoned on arrival at planet
Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO): Studies surface and interior of planet
Solar panels unfurl
Mercury Transfer Module (MTM): Flies stack to Mercury (later discarded)

ESA
(Europe)

JAXA
(Japan)

MERCURY
Least explored rocky planet in solar system
Diameter: 4,880km
Crust
Mantle
Liquid outer core
Solid inner core
Surface temp: 400°C+

Oct 2018: Launch from Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana. Arrival in 2025

Sources: ESA, Airbus, NASA, BBC
Picture: ESA