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.
I bet it’s filled with molten gold.
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.
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