BEPICOLOMBO LAUNCHES

ESA’s Mercury mission, BepiColombo, successfully launched on 20 October at 01:45 UT, starting its seven-year journey to the innermost planet. The mission consists of two spacecraft – one from Europe, the other from Japan – that will orbit the planet, observing its geology and composition. Researchers hope the mission will help to answer the many questions surrounding Mercury, such as why it has a magnetic field when some larger planets don’t.