Watch MESSENGER's path through the solar system, from
launch on August 3, 2004, through one Earth flyby, two
Venus flybys, and three Mercury flybys, to insertion into
an orbit around Mercury on March 18, 2011.
Posted on 01/14/2008 1:19:17 PM PST by NormsRevenge
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Messenger spacecraft sped within 124 miles of Mercury on Monday, putting it on a course that will have it orbiting the solar system's innermost planet in three more years.
It was the first visit by a spacecraft to Mercury in three decades. The closest approach occurred a little after 2 p.m.; it took about 10 minutes for the radio signals to reach flight controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., who confirmed everything had gone according to plan.
"I haven't seen so many smiles around this place for a long time," said project scientist Ralph McNutt. "It's an incredibly upbeat, very happy situation. Everybody's really enjoying this moment."
Messenger needed a gravity assist from Mercury — this is the first of three fly-bys — in order to get into orbit around the planet in 2011. The spacecraft was launched in 2004.
The last time a spacecraft flew past Mercury was in 1975, by NASA's Mariner 10. This time, Messenger will provide views of the opposite side of the planet, never before seen by a spacecraft.
More than 1,200 images are expected to be beamed back. Data should begin arriving on Earth on Tuesday, McNutt said.
Pictures on Tuesday.. fingers crossed.
I bet it’s filled with molten gold.
January 14, 2008
Countdown to MESSENGER’s Mercury Flyby
MESSENGER’s first flyby of Mercury is today! View the latest approach images.
http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/
Watch MESSENGER's path through the solar system, from
launch on August 3, 2004, through one Earth flyby, two
Venus flybys, and three Mercury flybys, to insertion into
an orbit around Mercury on March 18, 2011.
Is anyone else as impressed by the fact that we can aim a spacecraft at a planet that is anywhere from 48 to 138 millions miles away, have it come back around earth for a flyby, then 2 flybys of Venus, and then come to within 124 miles of the surface of Mercury????? That’s some heavy-duty math and physics on display. Not to mention the 2 future flybys of Mercury that will be able to bring MESSENGER into an orbit. I’m impressed.
Thank Newton!
The key is not having any humans on board. The “crew” all go home at the end of their shifts.
Well that, and not mixing up SI units and English units.
NASA probe to fly past little, sun-baked Mercury
(NASA’s car-sized MESSENGER spacecraft)
Reuters on Yahoo | 1/10/08 | Will Dunham
Posted on 01/10/2008 5:18:43 PM EST by NormsRevenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1951662/posts
Mercury’s spin reveals molten, not solid core
Reuters | Thursday, May 3, 2007 | Julie Steenhuysen
Posted on 05/03/2007 10:51:50 PM EDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1828141/posts
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