BepiColombo mission to Mercury on track for April 2018 launch

Humanity's next visitor to the solar system's innermost planet remains on track for April 2018, according to the project's scientist. The BepiColombo mission, being developed jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is currently ahead of final acceptance tests that will prepare it for shipment to the launch site.