Why Mercury? The Mission Gallery Education News Center Science Operations Who We Are FAQs Related Links Contacts |
Mission News September 30, 2009 MESSENGER Gains Critical Gravity Assist for Mercury Orbital Observations MESSENGER successfully flew by Mercury yesterday, gaining a critical gravity assist that will enable it to enter orbit about Mercury in 2011 and capturing images of five percent of the planet never before seen. With more than 90 percent of the planet’s surface already imaged, MESSENGER’s science team had drafted an ambitious observation campaign designed to tease out additional details from features uncovered during the first two flybys. But an unexpected signal loss prior to closest approach hampered those plans. [more] Featured Image
|