MESSENGER captures new views of Mercury
Posted: Thu, Oct 9, 2008, 7:15 AM ET (1115 GMT)
NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has returned images of portions of the planet Mercury never seen before, taken during a flyby of the innermost planet earlier this week. The spacecraft approached to within 200 kilometers of the planet early Monday on the second of three planned flybys of the planet. Images taken by the spacecraft revealed about 30 percent of the planet's surface that had never been seen by spacecraft before. Some news features seen in the MESSENGER images include patterns of rays extending longitudinally along the surface. MESSENGER, which stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, was launched in 2004 on a mission to study the planet in much greater detail than ever before. It is scheduled to enter orbit around the planet in early 2011 after one more flyby next year.
NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has returned images of portions of the planet Mercury never seen before, taken during a flyby of the innermost planet earlier this week. The spacecraft approached to within 200 kilometers of the planet early Monday on the second of three planned flybys of the planet. Images taken by the spacecraft revealed about 30 percent of the planet's surface that had never been seen by spacecraft before. Some news features seen in the MESSENGER images include patterns of rays extending longitudinally along the surface. MESSENGER, which stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, was launched in 2004 on a mission to study the planet in much greater detail than ever before. It is scheduled to enter orbit around the planet in early 2011 after one more flyby next year.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, July 31
Europe wants to be a strong partner of the US in the Moon race, ESA astronaut says
EuroNews — 7:25 am ET (1125 GMT) HydroGNSS data open for new insights into Earth’s water
ESA — 7:24 am ET (1124 GMT) Photo Gallery: SpaceX Turns A Corner With Starship Flight 13
Aviation Week — 7:22 am ET (1122 GMT) SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch Scheduled Friday Evening from Vandenberg
Santa Barbara (CA) Edhat — 7:22 am ET (1122 GMT) The Nimble U.S. Space Force Presses Its Advantage
Wall Street Journal — 7:22 am ET (1122 GMT) |
