Hum Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 NASA's Messenger spacecraft will make history tomorrow (March 17) when it becomes the first probe to orbit the planet Mercury. But it also promises to help solve a host of mysteries about the solar system's innermost planet. The seven instruments aboard Messenger, fortified to withstand the blistering environs near the sun, will help researchers investigate the many enigmas of Mercury ? such as its its unexpected magnetic field, and whether the planet has water ice at its poles. As the solar system's innermost planet, Mercury is relatively unexplored considering its proximity to Earth. Discovering more about this searing hot, rocky sibling of Earth could shed light on how our solar system formed, and how alien planets coalesced around faraway stars, researchers said. "Many exoplanets discovered to date are as close or closer than Mercury is to our host star," said Messenger principal investigator Sean Solomon, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. He and his colleagues discussed Messenger at a press conference yesterday (March 15). source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudslag Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 awesome, will be keeping an eye on this over the next few days. thanks for the reminder. it's about time we had an orbiter around Mercury consider how long we've been flying by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 I hope we can get some decent pictures back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted March 19, 2011 Member Share Posted March 19, 2011 It's really very exciting. I hope we learn lots of cool, new stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 yes, waiting for the pics as well. even though to be honest this isn't huge news, i mean Messenger has been flying by Mercury for years now. i don't know why it's taken so long to insert into orbit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 It's been using gravitational slingshots around the inner planets to hit the right trajectory for orbital insertion. The direct route would have required a much more expensive & heavier spacecraft (engines, fuel etc) and a larger and $$$$ launcher. Not in the cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 First image of Mercury from orbit released NASA released an image of the planet Mercury on Tuesday, the first obtained from a spacecraft orbiting the solar system's innermost planet. The image is the first of many expected to come from the Messenger probe, the first space mission to orbit the planet closest to the sun. The Messenger spacecraft launched on August 3, 2004, and after flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury, started its historic orbit around Mercury on March 17. The dominant rayed crater in the upper portion of the image is Debussy, according to NASA. The smaller crater, Matabei, with its dark rays, is visible to the west of Debussy. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 nice images from old Merc, it's about time we've had a ship in orbit. yeah i understand why it's taken so long, but none of those money reasons will ever convince me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted April 1, 2011 Member Share Posted April 1, 2011 Nice. Looks like they had a major impact once upon a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Observer Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 dam thats great looking forward to see more about this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 just remember this time next year we'll have live HD video from Mars on YouTube...it'll be more exciting than Merc pics. no offense to Mercury, of course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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