British-built spacecraft begins 7-yr mission to Mercury

European and Japanese space agencies have launched their first mission to Mercury from a launchpad in Kourou, French Guiana.

The British-built BepiColombo took off aboard an Ariane 5 rocket at about 2.45am UK time on Saturday to begin its seven-year, 5 billion mile (8.5 billion km) journey to the closest planet to the sun.

Stephane Israel, chief executive of rocket-maker Arianespace, confirmed the launch had been a success.

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“Arianespace is delighted to announce that BepiColombo has been separated as planned on the targeted escape orbit and is now on its way towards Mercury,” he said.

The £1.4bn mission is complicated by the intense gravity pull of the sun, forcing the spacecraft to take an elliptical path that involves two flybys of Venus and six of Mercury itself.

 

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