Two Spacecraft Head for Mercury

Two spacecraft -- from Europe and Japan -- have set off on a joint mission to Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun; after two weeks of denial -- and mounting international outrage -- Saudi Arabia has admitted that the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in Istanbul. But will its version of events satisfy the demands of its allies for answers?

(Image: "Ariane 5" rocket carrying BepiColombo spacecraft Europe's historic first mission to Mercury. Credit: EPA)