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NASA Spacecraft Set to Shine Spotlight on Mercury
coondoggie writes to tell us Network World is reporting that NASA will this month see the realization of a mission launched in 2004, sent to explore the planet Mercury. "MESSENGER, launched in 2004, is the first NASA mission sent to orbit Mercury, the planet closest to the sun. But on Jan. 14 it will pass close by the planet and use Mercury's gravity for a critical assist needed to keep the spacecraft on track for its ultimate orbit around the planet three years from now. Still, the spacecraft is also expected to throw back some never-before -seen images, NASA said. The flyby also will gather essential data for planning the overall mission. After flybys of Earth, Venus, and Mercury, it will start a year-long orbital study of Mercury in March 2011, NASA said. "
Am I the only Slashdotter who looked at this and thought, "Of course they've never been seen, they haven't even been taken yet." Yes, yes, I know what they meant, but couldn't they have said what they meant instead of something dramatic but wrong?
OK, folks, see if you can manage to mod me down with a -1 Pedant, now.
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I can't imagine they'd need any more light on Mercury, what with the sun just 36 million miles off and all.
Nice alliteration, btw.
!#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
Here's a picture of me when I was younger......
ALL PICTURES OF YOU ARE OF YOU WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER.
Heres a picture of me when i'm older....
You son of a bitch, where did you get that camera?
Ah, how i wish Mitch was still rambling.
Ice Cream has no bones.
You know, there's a reason why most of us don't trust URL redirector links posted on Slashdot. Still, I'm disappointed. The traditional target for these links is Goatse.
"They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
I freaking LOVE slashdot comments like this. I'm a goddamn nerd and the only time I hear about orbital mechanics is here. At work it's a never ending stream of fart jokes and stories about people defecating, and shitting, and crapping their pants, and drinking and crapping their pants, or drinking and crapping on the shower curtains, or eating and crapping on tables. I kid you not.
Just wait until the next time they send a probe to Uranus.
And as a NASA employee, can you give us an insider's take on the mission?