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Spacecraft Buzzes By Mercury

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the it's-time-to-buzz-the-planet dept.

Riding with Robots writes "The robotic spacecraft MESSENGER is making its second fly-by of the first planet today, skimming just 200 kilometers above the surface. The fly-by will reveal portions of the planet that have never been seen before, but the main purpose of the maneuver is to prepare for an orbital insertion in 2011. The mission site offers extensive information, along with the first pictures that are already arriving on Earth, with many more expected in the coming hours and days."

1 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. The coldest place by CRCulver · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Larry Niven's first published short story was titled "The Coldest Place" (collected in 3 Books of Known Space ), based on the idea that the regions of Mercury not hit by the sun would be the coldest place in the solar system. The story was infamous out of date by the time it hit print, as some studies of Mercury had shown that it never got that cold. Nonetheless, reading the story as a child awoke a certain interest of that planet which never gets as much attention as the sexier Mars or Venus or the gas giants. I look forward to following this mission.