BepiColombo is a joint mission of the
European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (
JAXA) to the planet
Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites to be launched together: the
Mercury Planetary Orbiter (
MPO) and the
Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (
MMO). The mission will perform a comprehensive study on Mercury, including its
magnetic field,
magnetosphere, interior structure and surface. It is scheduled to launch in January 2017. The mission was approved in February 2007 as part of the
Cosmic Vision programme.