An Ariane 5 rocket is scheduled to lift the BepiColombo spacecraft into orbit from French Guiana late Friday, after which it will begin its seven-year journey to the solar system’s innermost planet. The European Space Agency says the 1.3 billion-euro ($1.5 billion) BepiColombo mission is one of the most challenging in its history. When it arrives, BepiColombo will release two probes — Bepi and Mio — that will independently investigate the surface and magnetic field of Mercury. The first spacecraft to visit Mercury was NASA’s Mariner 10 that flew past the planet in the mid-1970s. Researchers are also hoping to learn more about the formation of the solar system from the data gathered by the BepiColombo mission.

Source: National Post October 19, 2018 15:56 UTC