Who We Are MESSENGER Mission News November 3, 2009 Johns Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md. MESSENGER
SPACECRAFT REVEALS MORE HIDDEN TERRITORY ON MERCURY WASHINGTON
-- A NASA spacecraft's third and final flyby of the planet
Mercury gives scientists, for the first time, an almost complete
view of the planet's surface and provides new scientific
findings about this relatively unknown planet. The Mercury
Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging spacecraft,
known as MESSENGER, flew by Mercury on Sept. 29. The probe
completed a critical gravity assist to remain on course to enter
into orbit around Mercury in 2011. Despite shutting down
temporarily because of a power system switchover during a solar
eclipse, the spacecraft's cameras and instruments collected
high-resolution and color images unveiling another 6 percent of
the planet's surface never before seen at close range.
Approximately 98 percent of Mercury's surface now has been
imaged by NASA spacecraft. After MESSENGER goes