BepiColombo in Pictures: A Mercury Mission by Europe and Japan

Spacecraft selfie

The transfer module carries three black-and-white cameras, which engineers can use to monitor the BepiColombo mission to confirm that different pieces of the spacecraft are deploying properly — and to take some pictures for us Earthlings during the long journey. Here, one of those cameras can see part of the module's solar power system.

Autographed copy

Engineers who contributed to the BepiColombo mission signed the fairing of the rocket that will send the spacecraft blasting toward Mercury.

Start the countdown

The Ariane 5 ECA rocket carrying BepiColombo, all packed up and ready for its launch from Kourou, French Guiana. Launch was scheduled for 9:45 p.m. EDT Oct. 19 (0145 GMT, Oct. 20).

Sunset with a rocket

The sun set over Kourou, French Guiana, on Oct. 18 as the BepiColombo team awaited the launch of their science mission, which will be just the third to study Mercury.