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Payload

• BepiColombo

Ariane 5 ECA, from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), sent the BepiColombo spacecraft on its way to the solar system’s smallest and least-explored terrestrial planet: Mercury.

The BepiColombo mission will be carried out jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

After launching the successful Rosetta mission in 2004, Ariane’s launch services once again helps unlock mysteries of deep space.