MESSENGER:
MESSENGER will map the surface composition, study the magnetic field and interior structure of our solar system's smallest and innermost planet -- Mercury. The spacecraft is designed to fly past Mercury three times before settling into orbit. It carries eight instruments to study Mercury's polar deposits, core and magnetic dynamo, crust and mantle, magnetosphere, crustal composition, geologic evolution and exosphere.
The spacecraft already has revealed more of Mercury than has ever been seen before. Images and data reveal Mercury as a unique, geologically diverse world with a magnetosphere far different than the one first discovered by Mariner 10 in 1975.
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Visit the MESSENGER Website