After Hours

MESSENGER mission to collect new data about Mercury

By // March 24, 2011, 4:23 AM PST // HuTerra

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  • MESSENGER’s ceramic cloth sunshade

    MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) pulled into orbit around Mercury on March 17, 2011. It has taken the space probe six years to go from Earth to Mercury, while maneuvering around Venus. MESSENGER is hopefully going to answer many questions about the planet, including better images that will provide information about the surface; what Mercury’s core is made of (the currently popular hypothesis is iron); and more information about Mercury’s magnetic field.

    It has taken years to get MESSENGER ready to build on what we already know about Mercury. From building the probe, to analyzing old images of Mercury taken by the Mariner space probe, studying Mercury has been one of NASA’s biggest ongoing projects. One way to follow the space probe's progress is by checking the MESSENGER Twitter feed.

    This artist’s rendition depicts MESSENGER’s ceramic cloth sunshade that protects the exterior instruments.

    Image credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, courtesy of NASA

    Also check out the CNET News.com gallery Messenger from Earth reaches Mercury's orbit.

  • MESSENGER attached to the Delta II Payload Assist Module

    MESSENGER attached to the Delta II Payload Assist Module.

    Image credit: NASA

  • MESSENGER on the launch pad

    MESSENGER on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral.

    Image credit: NASA

  • MESSENGER during building process

    MESSENGER during building, before encapsulation.

    Image credit: NASA

  • Mercury's craters

    An image taken in 2009 by MESSENGER of Mercury’s craters, which are considerably smooth inside.

    Image credit: NASA

  • MESSENGER launch

    August 3, 2004 MESSENGER launch.

    Image credit: NASA

  • Mercury image

    Image of Mercury taken by the Mariner 10 in 1974.

    Image credit: NASA

  • South pole of Mercury

    The south pole of Mercury, image taken by the Mariner 10 in 1974.

    Image credit: NASA

  • Mercury’s Brahms Crater

    Mercury’s Brahms Crater is 98 kilometers in diameter. Image taken by Mariner 10 in 1974.

    Image credit: NASA

  • Mercury’s Beethoven Quadrangle

    This image is a computer photomosaic of Mercury’s Beethoven Quadrangle. Images taken by Mariner 10 in 1974.

    Image credit: NASA

  • Mercury’s surface

    Mercury’s surface is desert-like and covered with craters.

    Image credit: NASA

  • Craters on Mercury with double rings

    Many of Mercury’s craters have double rings.

    Image credit: NASA

  • Ejecta from a new crater on Mercury

    The bright rays in this image, taken by Mariner 10, are the result of ejecta from a new crater.

    Image credit: NASA

  • Mercury’s Caloris Basin

    This computer photomosiac shows Mercury’s Caloris Basin.

    Image credit: NASA

  • Mercury passing in front of the sun

    Look carefully at this photo of the sun. The small black dot is Mercury, passing in front of the sun on May 7, 2003. Images of this rare event were captured by both the SOHO and TRACE spacecrafts.

    Image credit: NASA

MESSENGER’s ceramic cloth sunshade

MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) pulled into orbit around Mercury on March 17, 2011. It has taken the space probe six years to go from Earth to Mercury, while maneuvering around Venus. MESSENGER is hopefully going to answer many questions about the planet, including better images that will provide information about the surface; what Mercury’s core is made of (the currently popular hypothesis is iron); and more information about Mercury’s magnetic field.

It has taken years to get MESSENGER ready to build on what we already know about Mercury. From building the probe, to analyzing old images of Mercury taken by the Mariner space probe, studying Mercury has been one of NASA’s biggest ongoing projects. One way to follow the space probe's progress is by checking the MESSENGER Twitter feed.

This artist’s rendition depicts MESSENGER’s ceramic cloth sunshade that protects the exterior instruments.

Image credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, courtesy of NASA

Also check out the CNET News.com gallery Messenger from Earth reaches Mercury's orbit.

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