NASA Spacecraft Snaps 1st Photo of Mercury from Orbit

Space.com ^ | 3/29/11 | Nasa

[NormsRevenge]

The first spacecraft ever to circle Mercury has beamed home the first-ever photo taken of the small rocky planet from orbit, showing a stark landscape peppered with craters.

NASA's Messenger spacecraft snapped the new Mercury photo today (March 29) at 5:20 a.m. EDT (0920 GMT). The photo shows the stark gray landscape of southern Mercury, a view that is dominated by a huge impact crater.

"This image is the first ever obtained from a spacecraft in orbit about the solar system's innermost planet," Messenger mission scientists explained in a statement.

The new Mercury photo shows a region around the south pole of Mercury. A 53-mile (85-kilometer) wide crater called Debussy clearly stands out in the upper right of the image, with bright rays emanating from its center.

A smaller crater called Matabei, which is 15 miles (24 km) wide and is known for its "unusual dark rays," is also visible in the image to the west of the Debussy crater, mission managers explained.

The new Mercury photo was posted to the Messenger mission website managed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which is overseeing the flight for NASA.

[NormsRevenge]

NASA's Mercury Messenger probe captured this historic image of Mercury, the first ever obtained from a spacecraft in orbit about the solar system's innermost planet. The photo was taken on Tuesday (March 29) at 5:20 am EDT.

CREDIT: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

[NormsRevenge]

[Howie66]

Hey!

Isn’t that the Congress Womaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, Sheila Jackson-Lee down there in the lower right of the picture?

[boop]

Interesting. Looks exactly like our moon. BTW, does anyone know how the spacecraft handles the heat/cold differential between night and day? Isn’t it the greatest difference in the solar system?

[buccaneer81]

Looks like a volcano or mountain of some sort to the left of the main crater. Look at the 8 - 9 o’clock position in relation to the crater.

[BenLurkin]

Yup.

It’s a big airless rock alright.

[ml/nj]

Looks just like the old pictures.

I'm sure all of this is Constitutional. /sarc

ML/NJ

[buccaneer81]

Photo taken by Messenger of Earth and Moon from a distance of 114 million miles:

[Repeal The 17th]

Mercury ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids...

[buccaneer81]

I'm sure all of this is Constitutional. /sarc

All NASA has to do is put one military component on all spacecraft, and then maybe you'll let it go.

[Steely Tom]

The hottest desert on Earth is a cool icy glass of lemonade compared to that place.

[buccaneer81]

Mercury ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids...

But it's not cold as hell... ;-)

[Darksheare]

Just think, it’s there to celebrate all the accomplishments and contributions of Muslims in space exploration.

[fhayek]

Could we ever go there, I mean, like on the dark side?

[cripplecreek]

All NASA has to do is put one military component on all spacecraft

It worked for Lewis and Clark.

I'd like to see a side by side comparison of what entitlements and regulatory agencies cost me personally per year as opposed to what this stuff costs me per year.

[Repeal The 17th]

Only if we go at night.

[cripplecreek]

Long cold nights.

[KoRn]

Looks like our Moon.

[BenLurkin]

What? Don't you like a little sunshine...

[KoRn]

Wow! That pic of the Earth is one of the most awesome I’ve ever seen!!! I’ve always wondered what our planet looks like from the other planets. Too bad it isn’t in color.