Messenger meets Mercury

[Guest guest]

Let's see if 'Mercury-related' events start coming to the public

consciousness like the landing of the Mars rovers brought 'Mars-related'

events or the arrival of the Cassini probe brought 'Saturn-related'

events...

http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/

*MESSENGER Flyby of Mercury*

At 2:04 p.m. EST -- MESSENGER skimmed 200 kilometers (124 miles) above

the surface of Mercury in the first of three flybys of the planet.

Initial indications from the radio signals indicate the spacecraft is

still operating nominally. The first science data return from the flyby

was received today, just minutes before the closest approach point with

the planet, as planned.

“The engineers and operators at the Deep Space Network (DSN) in

Goldstone, Calif., in conjunction with engineers at the s Hopkins

University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., pulled off a

tremendous feat, acquiring and locking onto the downlink signal from the

spacecraft within seconds, providing the necessary Doppler measurements

for the Radio Science team” said MESSENGER Mission Systems Engineer

Finnegan, of APL.“ The spacecraft is continuing to collect imagery and

other scientific measurements from the planet as we now depart Mercury

from the illuminated side, documenting for the first time the previously

unseen surface of the planet.”

Tomorrow at noon EST, the spacecraft will turn back towards the Earth to

start down-linking the on-board stored data. Measurements of this

Doppler signal from the spacecraft will allow improved knowledge of

Mercury’s gravity field.