Mercury is the least understood of all the inner rocky planets in our Solar System. However, knowing its evolution is crucial to understand the evolution of our entire Solar System. BepiColombo, Europe’s first mission to Mercury, will be launched in 2018. Currently it undergoes final testing at ESA’s Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands. In between being moved from one test chamber to the next, the whole spacecraft stack will be presented on 6 July to the media: The European and the Japanese orbiters as well as the transfer module.
This is a replay of the media briefing presenting the mission, its background, technological challenges and current status.