BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Nasa set to revisit Mercury
More news of Solar System visits: Nasa plans to launch a new probe to Mercury.
Messenger (short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) will conduct an in-depth study of Mercury in its entirety. Carrying seven scientific instruments, it will provide the first images of the whole planet.It will also collect information on the composition and structure of Mercury's crust, its geological history, the nature of its thin atmosphere and magnetic field, and the make-up of its core and polar materials.
This of course is in addition to the Beppi Collumbo collaboration between Europe and Japan due for launch early in the next decade. Exciting stuff!
Posted by Paul Goodison at July 19, 2004 01:00 PM | TrackBack