ESA unveils third mission to Mercury to investigate water ice and volcanoes

BepiColombo spacecraft will also attempt to explain why the solar system's smallest planet appears to be shrinking

The BepiColombo spacecraft, which will become the third probe to visit Mercury, has been unveiled ahead of a mission that will tackle some of the deepest mysteries of our solar system.

The spacecraft, scheduled to launch in October 2018, will investigate the existence of water ice at Mercury's poles and its volcanoes, and attempt to explain the surprising discovery that the solar system's smallest planet appears to be shrinking. Mercury remains the most elusive of the solar system's inner planets, partly due to the challenges involved in building a spacecraft robust enough to withstand the "pizza oven" conditions at the planet.