ESA approves 2013 spacecraft launch
The Paris-based European Space Agency says it will launch a planetary probe named BepiColombo in 2013 to assume a low elliptical orbit around Mercury.
The orbiter will carry cameras that can record images of different wavelengths of the surface of the planet, as well as equipment for measuring local particle radiation.
The mission will also measure the sun's X-ray and particle radiation on Mercury, as well as mapping the elemental abundances of the planet's surface.
In addition, the craft will carry a Japanese orbiter that will measure the planet's magnetosphere and its magnetic field.
ESA officials say the package of two orbiters will reach a permanent orbit around Mercury by the end of the next decade, and will produce scientific data only from 2018-20.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
