this is the spacecraft cold becky columbo, called becky columbo, after a famous italian scientist.hat you really get a sense of the size of this huge piece of kit. and this is a spacecraft built to withstand extremes. to get to mercury, it has to travel towards the sun, and that means dealing with intense radiation and heat. on the surface of mercury, temperatures can reach a50 celsius, and that's hot enough to melt lead. its launch will take place next year. this is probably one of the most challenging missions we have ever undertaken. it is the long journey to get there and we have to deal with heat when we get close to the this on. but mercury is a tiny, enigmatic little world, which has so much to tell us about the formation of our solar system. the journey will take seven years, arriving at mercury in 2025. once it's there, the engine will be jettisoned, and two spacecraft will separate. they will work together to give us our best ever be. us our best ever view. we'll see its features in incredible detail, and peer inside to solve the mystery of what lies at mercury's core. th