Missions to Mercury from Japan and Russia

With MESSENGER zeroing in on its orbital rendesvous with the winged planet, Japan and Russia have announced they're sending satellites to Mercury, too.

The Japanese mission sounds kinda like they're going to land on the planet. But I'm not sure.

Japan plans space probe to Mercury

Japan says it is planning a space mission to Mercury with a spacecraft specially equipped with mirrors to combat the planet's intense heat.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency believes the mirrors will help the probe to survive temperatures of up to 842 degrees on the surface of the planet, The Daily Telegraph reported.

So is the mission going to BE on the surface of the planet? Launch is slated for 2014.

Russia is going to attempt it for certain, with an orbiter and a lander:

Russian aerospace company to send mission to Mercury in 4-5 years (that'd mean a launch in 2014 possibly, too)

And the Russkies are launching their sample return mission to Phobos (Martian moon) next year. Hope it works better than Hayabusa (and I'm still hoping there's a grain of asteroid Itokawa in Hayabusa's B sample chamber).