The first spacecraft designed by NASA to orbit Mercury is giving scientists a new perspective on the planet's atmosphere and evolution.
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MESSENGER Reveals New Info About Mercury
One Year Until Mercury Orbit Insertion
One year from today, March 18, 2010 — starting at 12:45 a.m. UTC — MESSENGER will transition from orbiting the Sun to being the first spacecraft ever to orbit the planet Mercury.
MESSENGER Features
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MESSENGER Team Releases First Global Map of Mercury
NASA’s MESSENGER mission team and cartographic experts from the U. S. Geological Survey have created a global mosaic of Mercury that will help scientists pinpoint craters, faults, and other features for observation.
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New Findings From Messenger's Third Mercury Flyby
MESSENGER successfully flew by Mercury on September 29, 2009, gaining a critical gravity assist that will enable it to enter orbit about Mercury in 2011.
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MESSENGER's Final Flyby Returns New Views of Mercury →
On September 29, MESSENGER skimmed 228 kilometers above the surface of Mercury in its third and final flyby of the planet. Its instruments are now returning images of its surface previously unseen by spacecraft.
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MESSENGER Spacecraft Prepares for Final Pass by Mercury
MESSENGER will fly by Mercury for the third and final time on Sept. 29, passing less than 142 miles above the planet's rocky surface for a final gravity assist that will enable it to enter Mercury's orbit in 2011.
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MESSENGER Mission Passes Five-Year Mark
It’s been five years since MESSENGER was launched atop a Delta II rocket on August 3, 2004, and they have been busy years.
MESSENGER News
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NASA Teleconference to Preview MESSENGER's Flyby of Mercury
01.07.08 - NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 10, to preview the historic Jan. 14 spacecraft flight past Mercury that will explore some of the last major never-seen-before terrain in the inner solar system.
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Mercury-Bound NASA Probe Snaps First Approach Shots Before August Flyby →
05.31.05 - NASA’s Mercury-bound MESSENGER spacecraft – less than three months from an Earth flyby that will slingshot it toward the inner solar system – successfully tested its main camera by snapping distant approach shots of Earth and the Moon.
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Mercury-Bound MESSENGER Launches From Cape Canaveral →
08.03.04 - NASA's MESSENGER -- set to become the first spacecraft to orbit the planet Mercury -- launched today at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
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Related Multimedia
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Launch is Flawless!
MESSENGER is successfully launched on its journey to Mercury.
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MESSENGER Revealed
Join James Leary and other Mission specialists for this exciting webcast.
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MESSENGER's Science
Dr. Ralph McNutt answers your questions about the MESSENGER Mission.
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A Scientific MESSENGER
This probe's science payload will get personal with Mercury.
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In Demand
Planet Mercury's curious features leave scientists wanting more.
› View This Video
 "MESSENGER launches successfully")
 "Tiffany Nail hosts Mission Overview webcast with James Leary Mission System Engineer")
 "Cheryle Mako Mission Integration Manager and Project Scientist Dr. Ralph McNutt")
 "MESSENGER spacecraft")
 "An artist's conception of MESSENGER orbiting Mercury.")