20 Km MERCURY

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

20 Km MERCURY National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY 1 N 20 km PIA12163 Blue Marble Matches Image #1 Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY N 30 km PIA12068 Blue Marble Matches Image #2 Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY: Rembrandt Basin N 100 km PIA12049 Blue Marble Matches Image #3 Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY: Kuiper N 50 km PIA11355 Blue Marble Matches Image #4 Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY N 30 km PIA12368 Blue Marble Matches Image #5 Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY N 25 km PIA12054 Blue Marble Matches Image #6 Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY N 20 km PIA12370 Blue Marble Matches Image #7 Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY: Lermontov N 20 km PIA12116 Blue Marble Matches Image #8 Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY: Renoir N 50 km MESSENGER MOSAIC Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY: Pahinui N 10 km 575089 Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration MERCURY: Michelangelo N 60 km 1566240 Expedition Earth and Beyond: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education NASA Johnson Space Center .
Recommended publications
  • Copyrighted Material
    Index Abulfeda crater chain (Moon), 97 Aphrodite Terra (Venus), 142, 143, 144, 145, 146 Acheron Fossae (Mars), 165 Apohele asteroids, 353–354 Achilles asteroids, 351 Apollinaris Patera (Mars), 168 achondrite meteorites, 360 Apollo asteroids, 346, 353, 354, 361, 371 Acidalia Planitia (Mars), 164 Apollo program, 86, 96, 97, 101, 102, 108–109, 110, 361 Adams, John Couch, 298 Apollo 8, 96 Adonis, 371 Apollo 11, 94, 110 Adrastea, 238, 241 Apollo 12, 96, 110 Aegaeon, 263 Apollo 14, 93, 110 Africa, 63, 73, 143 Apollo 15, 100, 103, 104, 110 Akatsuki spacecraft (see Venus Climate Orbiter) Apollo 16, 59, 96, 102, 103, 110 Akna Montes (Venus), 142 Apollo 17, 95, 99, 100, 102, 103, 110 Alabama, 62 Apollodorus crater (Mercury), 127 Alba Patera (Mars), 167 Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP), 110 Aldrin, Edwin (Buzz), 94 Apophis, 354, 355 Alexandria, 69 Appalachian mountains (Earth), 74, 270 Alfvén, Hannes, 35 Aqua, 56 Alfvén waves, 35–36, 43, 49 Arabia Terra (Mars), 177, 191, 200 Algeria, 358 arachnoids (see Venus) ALH 84001, 201, 204–205 Archimedes crater (Moon), 93, 106 Allan Hills, 109, 201 Arctic, 62, 67, 84, 186, 229 Allende meteorite, 359, 360 Arden Corona (Miranda), 291 Allen Telescope Array, 409 Arecibo Observatory, 114, 144, 341, 379, 380, 408, 409 Alpha Regio (Venus), 144, 148, 149 Ares Vallis (Mars), 179, 180, 199 Alphonsus crater (Moon), 99, 102 Argentina, 408 Alps (Moon), 93 Argyre Basin (Mars), 161, 162, 163, 166, 186 Amalthea, 236–237, 238, 239, 241 Ariadaeus Rille (Moon), 100, 102 Amazonis Planitia (Mars), 161 COPYRIGHTED
    [Show full text]
  • Book of Abstracts: Studying Old Master Paintings
    BOOK OF ABSTRACTS STUDYING OLD MASTER PAINTINGS ­ TECHNOLOGY AND PRACTICE THE NATIONAL GALLERY TECHNICAL BULLETIN 30TH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE 16­18 September 2009, Sainsbury Wing Theatre, National Gallery, London Supported by The Elizabeth Cayzer Charitable Trust STUDYING OLD MASTER PAINTINGS ­ TECHNOLOGY AND PRACTICE THE NATIONAL GALLERY TECHNICAL BULLETIN 30TH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE BOOK OF ABSTRACTS 16­18 September 2009 Sainsbury Wing Theatre, National Gallery, London The Proceedings of this Conference will be published by Archetype Publications, London in 2010 Contents Presentations Page Presentations (cont’d) Page The Paliotto by Guido da Siena from the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Siena 3 The rediscovery of sublimated arsenic sulphide pigments in painting 25 Marco Ciatti, Roberto Bellucci, Cecilia Frosinini, Linda Lucarelli, Luciano Sostegni, and polychromy: Applications of Raman microspectroscopy Camilla Fracassi, Carlo Lalli Günter Grundmann, Natalia Ivleva, Mark Richter, Heike Stege, Christoph Haisch Painting on parchment and panels: An exploration of Pacino di 5 The use of blue and green verditer in green colours in seventeenth­century 27 Bonaguida’s technique Netherlandish painting practice Carole Namowicz, Catherine M. Schmidt, Christine Sciacca, Yvonne Szafran, Annelies van Loon, Lidwein Speleers Karen Trentelman, Nancy Turner Alterations in paintings: From non­invasive in­situ assessment to 29 Technical similarities between mural painting and panel painting in 7 laboratory research the works of Giovanni da Milano: The Rinuccini
    [Show full text]
  • Film Front Weimar: Representations of the First World War in German Films from the Weimar Period (1919-1933) Kester, Bernadette
    www.ssoar.info Film Front Weimar: Representations of the First World War in German Films from the Weimar Period (1919-1933) Kester, Bernadette Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Monographie / monograph Zur Verfügung gestellt in Kooperation mit / provided in cooperation with: OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks) Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Kester, B. (2002). Film Front Weimar: Representations of the First World War in German Films from the Weimar Period (1919-1933). (Film Culture in Transition). Amsterdam: Amsterdam Univ. Press. https://nbn-resolving.org/ urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-317059 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer CC BY-NC-ND Lizenz This document is made available under a CC BY-NC-ND Licence (Namensnennung-Nicht-kommerziell-Keine Bearbeitung) zur (Attribution-Non Comercial-NoDerivatives). For more Information Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu den CC-Lizenzen finden see: Sie hier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.de * pb ‘Film Front Weimar’ 30-10-2002 14:10 Pagina 1 The Weimar Republic is widely regarded as a pre- cursor to the Nazi era and as a period in which jazz, achitecture and expressionist films all contributed to FILM FRONT WEIMAR BERNADETTE KESTER a cultural flourishing. The so-called Golden Twenties FFILMILM FILM however was also a decade in which Germany had to deal with the aftermath of the First World War. Film CULTURE CULTURE Front Weimar shows how Germany tried to reconcile IN TRANSITION IN TRANSITION the horrendous experiences of the war through the war films made between 1919 and 1933.
    [Show full text]
  • Shallow Crustal Composition of Mercury As Revealed by Spectral Properties and Geological Units of Two Impact Craters
    Planetary and Space Science 119 (2015) 250–263 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Planetary and Space Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/pss Shallow crustal composition of Mercury as revealed by spectral properties and geological units of two impact craters Piero D’Incecco a,n, Jörn Helbert a, Mario D’Amore a, Alessandro Maturilli a, James W. Head b, Rachel L. Klima c, Noam R. Izenberg c, William E. McClintock d, Harald Hiesinger e, Sabrina Ferrari a a Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center, Rutherfordstrasse 2, D-12489 Berlin, Germany b Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA c The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA d Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA e Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Institut für Planetologie, Wilhelm-Klemm Str. 10, D-48149 Münster, Germany article info abstract Article history: We have performed a combined geological and spectral analysis of two impact craters on Mercury: the Received 5 March 2015 15 km diameter Waters crater (106°W; 9°S) and the 62.3 km diameter Kuiper crater (30°W; 11°S). Using Received in revised form the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) dataset we defined and mapped 9 October 2015 several units for each crater and for an external reference area far from any impact related deposits. For Accepted 12 October 2015 each of these units we extracted all spectra from the MESSENGER Atmosphere and Surface Composition Available online 24 October 2015 Spectrometer (MASCS) Visible-InfraRed Spectrograph (VIRS) applying a first order photometric correc- Keywords: tion.
    [Show full text]
  • Picturing France
    Picturing France Classroom Guide VISUAL ARTS PHOTOGRAPHY ORIENTATION ART APPRECIATION STUDIO Traveling around France SOCIAL STUDIES Seeing Time and Pl ace Introduction to Color CULTURE / HISTORY PARIS GEOGRAPHY PaintingStyles GOVERNMENT / CIVICS Paris by Night Private Inve stigation LITERATURELANGUAGE / CRITICISM ARTS Casual and Formal Composition Modernizing Paris SPEAKING / WRITING Department Stores FRENCH LANGUAGE Haute Couture FONTAINEBLEAU Focus and Mo vement Painters, Politics, an d Parks MUSIC / DANCENATURAL / DRAMA SCIENCE I y Fontainebleau MATH Into the Forest ATreebyAnyOther Nam e Photograph or Painting, M. Pa scal? ÎLE-DE-FRANCE A Fore st Outing Think L ike a Salon Juror Form Your Own Ava nt-Garde The Flo ating Studio AUVERGNE/ On the River FRANCHE-COMTÉ Stream of Con sciousness Cheese! Mountains of Fra nce Volcanoes in France? NORMANDY “I Cannot Pain tan Angel” Writing en Plein Air Culture Clash Do-It-Yourself Pointillist Painting BRITTANY Comparing Two Studie s Wish You W ere Here Synthétisme Creating a Moo d Celtic Culture PROVENCE Dressing the Part Regional Still Life Color and Emo tion Expressive Marks Color Collectio n Japanese Prin ts Legend o f the Château Noir The Mistral REVIEW Winds Worldwide Poster Puzzle Travelby Clue Picturing France Classroom Guide NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON page ii This Classroom Guide is a component of the Picturing France teaching packet. © 2008 Board of Trustees of the National Gallery of Art, Washington Prepared by the Division of Education, with contributions by Robyn Asleson, Elsa Bénard, Carla Brenner, Sarah Diallo, Rachel Goldberg, Leo Kasun, Amy Lewis, Donna Mann, Marjorie McMahon, Lisa Meyerowitz, Barbara Moore, Rachel Richards, Jennifer Riddell, and Paige Simpson.
    [Show full text]
  • Updates on Geologic Mapping of Kuiper (H06) Quadrangle
    EPSC Abstracts Vol. 12, EPSC2018-721-1, 2018 European Planetary Science Congress 2018 EEuropeaPn PlanetarSy Science CCongress c Author(s) 2018 Updates on geologic mapping of Kuiper (H06) quadrangle Lorenza Giacomini (1), Valentina Galluzzi (1), Cristian Carli (1), Matteo Massironi (2), Luigi Ferranti (3) and Pasquale Palumbo (4,1). (1) INAF, Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (IAPS), Rome, Italy ([email protected]); (2) Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy; (3) DISTAR, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy; (4) Dipartimento di Scienze & Tecnologie, Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘Parthenope’, Naples, Italy. 1. Introduction -C3 craters. They represent fresh craters with sharp rim and extended bright and rayed ejecta; Kuiper quadrangle is located at the equatorial zone of -C2 craters. Moderate degraded craters whose rim is Mercury and encompasses the area between eroded but clearly detectable. Extensive ejecta longitudes 288°E – 360°E and latitudes 22.5°N – blankets are still present; 22.5°S. The quadrangle was previously mapped for -C1 craters. Very degraded craters with an almost its most part by [2] that, using Mariner10 data, completely obliterated rim. Ejecta are very limited or produced a final 1:5M scale map of the area. In this absent. work we present the preliminary results of a more Different plain units were also identified and classified as: detailed geological map (1:3M scale) of the Kuiper - Intercrater plains. Densely cratered terrains, quadrangle that we compiled using the higher characterized by a rough surface texture. They resolution MESSENGER data. represent the more extended plains on the quadrangle; - Intermediate plains.
    [Show full text]
  • The Thyroid in Art
    THE THYROID IN ART Luigi Massimino SENA Clinical Pathology Faculty of Medicine University of Turin (Italy) 1 TAKE ART AND PUT IT IN SCIENCE Art and science are different aspects of human creativity. Over the centuries, artists have made use of the expressive power of images to awaken both emotions and empathy, which are often universal. 2 The thyroid gland (tireos, oblong "shield" , but which in reality meant big stone used as a door or for shutting the wooden door: cover, defend with the shield) is located in a part of the human body, i.e., in the neck, making it clearly visible in the throat when enlarged (goiter from Latin guttur). The prevalence of goiter was already known in ancient times, but the writings that described it were almost always devoid of explanatory drawings. The representation of the goiter is illustrated in the numerous depictions of goitrous men, women and children in coins, sculptures, paintings, simple craft objects and even in forms of folklore that involved persons not engaged in the medical art. The depictions were the works of artists living in endemic areas, or of travelers who illustrated the reality they encountered. The size of the goiter has always provoked amazement or fear, feelings that are associated with the mystery surrounding its origin and function. Over the centuries, it has stimulated the imagination of people, while at the same time it has paved the way to understanding the historical relationship between disease and society (pathocoenosis). 3 PATHOCOENOSIS In 1969, Mirko Drazen Grmek (1924-2000) created the neologism pathocenose or pathocoenosis , that is a “community of diseases”: “the collection of pathological states present in a given population in a certain time and space”.
    [Show full text]
  • CRATER IMAGE METADATA EARTH IMAGES Country Or BMM Date Camera/ Lens Focal Image Image ID# LAT
    CRATER IMAGE METADATA EARTH IMAGES Country or BMM Date Camera/ Lens Focal Image Image ID# LAT. LONG. Crater Name Geographic Acquired Instrument Length # Region E4: Kodak ISS006-E-16068 27.8S 16.4E Roter Kamm Namibia 12/28/2002 400 mm 1 DCS760C E4: Kodak ISS012-E-15881 51.5N 68.5W Manicouagan Canada 1/24/2006 50 mm 2 DCS760C E4: Kodak ISS014-E-11841 24.4N 24.4E Oasis Libya 1/13/2007 400 mm 3 DCS760C E4: Kodak ISS014-E-15775 35N 111W Barringer United States 3/1/2007 400 mm 4 DCS760C E4: Kodak ISS014-E-19496 29N 7.6W Ouarkziz Algeria 4/16/2007 800 mm 5 DCS760C E4: Kodak ISS015-E-17360 23.9S 132.3E Gosses Bluff Australia 7/13/2007 400 mm 6 DCS760C ISS018-E-14908 22.9N 10.4W Tenoumer Mauritania 12/20/2008 Nikon D2X 800 mm 7 ISS018-E-23713 20N 76.5E Lonar India 1/28/2009 Nikon D2X 800 mm 8 STS51I-33-56AA 27S 27.3E Vredefort South Africa 8/29/1985 Hasselblad 250 mm Clearwater STS61A-35-86 56.5N 74.7W Lakes Canada 11/1/1985 Hasselblad 250 mm (East & West) ISS028-E-14782 25.52S 120.53E Shoemaker Australia 7/6/2011 Nikon D2X 200 mm ISS034-E-29105 17.32S 128.25E Piccaninny Australia 1/15/2013 Nikon D2X 180 mm CRATER IMAGE METADATA MARS IMAGES BMM Geographic *Date or Camera/ Image Image ID# LAT. LONG. Crater Name Approx. YR Mission Name Region Instrument # Acquired PIA14290 5.4S 137.8E Gale Aeolis Mensae 2000's THEMIS IR Odyssey THEMIS IR Aeolis 14.5S 175.4E Gusev 2000's THEMIS IR Odyssey MOSAIC Quadrangle Mars Orbiter Colorized MOLA 42S 67E Hellas Basin Hellas Planitia 2000's Laser Altimeter Global Surveyor (MOLA) Viking Orbiter Margaritifer Visual
    [Show full text]
  • Large Impact Basins on Mercury: Global Distribution, Characteristics, and Modification History from MESSENGER Orbital Data Caleb I
    JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 117, E00L08, doi:10.1029/2012JE004154, 2012 Large impact basins on Mercury: Global distribution, characteristics, and modification history from MESSENGER orbital data Caleb I. Fassett,1 James W. Head,2 David M. H. Baker,2 Maria T. Zuber,3 David E. Smith,3,4 Gregory A. Neumann,4 Sean C. Solomon,5,6 Christian Klimczak,5 Robert G. Strom,7 Clark R. Chapman,8 Louise M. Prockter,9 Roger J. Phillips,8 Jürgen Oberst,10 and Frank Preusker10 Received 6 June 2012; revised 31 August 2012; accepted 5 September 2012; published 27 October 2012. [1] The formation of large impact basins (diameter D ≥ 300 km) was an important process in the early geological evolution of Mercury and influenced the planet’s topography, stratigraphy, and crustal structure. We catalog and characterize this basin population on Mercury from global observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft, and we use the new data to evaluate basins suggested on the basis of the Mariner 10 flybys. Forty-six certain or probable impact basins are recognized; a few additional basins that may have been degraded to the point of ambiguity are plausible on the basis of new data but are classified as uncertain. The spatial density of large basins (D ≥ 500 km) on Mercury is lower than that on the Moon. Morphological characteristics of basins on Mercury suggest that on average they are more degraded than lunar basins. These observations are consistent with more efficient modification, degradation, and obliteration of the largest basins on Mercury than on the Moon. This distinction may be a result of differences in the basin formation process (producing fewer rings), relaxation of topography after basin formation (subduing relief), or rates of volcanism (burying basin rings and interiors) during the period of heavy bombardment on Mercury from those on the Moon.
    [Show full text]
  • High-Resolution Topography of Mercury from Messenger Orbital Stereo Imaging – the Southern Hemisphere Quadrangles
    The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-3, 2018 ISPRS TC III Mid-term Symposium “Developments, Technologies and Applications in Remote Sensing”, 7–10 May, Beijing, China HIGH-RESOLUTION TOPOGRAPHY OF MERCURY FROM MESSENGER ORBITAL STEREO IMAGING – THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE QUADRANGLES F. Preusker 1 *, J. Oberst 1,2, A. Stark 1, S. Burmeister 2 1 German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planet. Research, Berlin, Germany – (stephan.elgner, frank.preusker, alexander.stark, juergen.oberst)@dlr.de 2 Technical University Berlin, Institute for Geodesy and Geoinformation Sciences, Berlin, Germany – (steffi.burmeister, juergen.oberst)@tu-berlin.de Commission VI, WG VI/4 KEY WORDS: Mercury, MESSENGER, Digital Terrain Models ABSTRACT: We produce high-resolution (222 m/grid element) Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) for Mercury using stereo images from the MESSENGER orbital mission. We have developed a scheme to process large numbers, typically more than 6000, images by photogrammetric techniques, which include, multiple image matching, pyramid strategy, and bundle block adjustments. In this paper, we present models for map quadrangles of the southern hemisphere H11, H12, H13, and H14. 1. INTRODUCTION Mercury requires sophisticated models for calibrations of focal length and distortion of the camera. In particular, the WAC The MErcury Surface, Space ENviorment, GEochemistry, and camera and NAC camera were demonstrated to show a linear Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft entered orbit about increase in focal length by up to 0.10% over the typical range of Mercury in March 2011 to carry out a comprehensive temperatures (-20 to +20 °C) during operation, which causes a topographic mapping of the planet.
    [Show full text]
  • January 09,1902
    The Journal. i \ OLUME 74. BELFAST, MAINE, THL'BSDAV, JANUARY •). 1!I02. NUMBER 2. service the Contents of To-Day’s Journal. pastor called the r»:i OBITUARY. Jan. 3d, at and the '^Hgrch eight, interment will be SOME STATE members, who responded b> in Evergreens Cemetery.—The Record. REPORTS. PERSONAL. page l. N. PERSONAL. verses of Scripture. Letters a George H. Carleton, for twenty-five years Brooklyn, Y., Jan. 4, ’02. relies .Newspaper Notes....Wedding The Assess,.™’ number of l.'^Hite1 ir. superintendent of the fire and tele- Report Shows an Increase in .. m Ice absent members police Fred R. Poor societies..The Situation Obit- Eleanor wife of returned to Dartmouth Co Samuel Morse went to Rockland jester of Waldo Countv A. O. alarm of N., Leroy'Marriner, died Population and Wealth. Meeting Orange..City Stoddard, clerk and graph department Oakland, Calif., lege Monday. day. nee t Law Court Decisions Concerning trea'^^^Bimide at her home in East The lltb annual of his annual with and a resident of that for half a Searsmont, Jan. 1st. report the State board it:>mes. .Seme State Reports. Personal, report. Two hav« city nearly She was Miss Eieauor of assessors says, in part: Thomas B. Dinsmore went to Bosto Mr. G. Harvey Self of New York is .imlieial Court....Terrible Railroad the church during the ws.Hi l>ro-* century, died at his home there Dec. 5th of formerly Thomas, visit- past j Monday on business. ing friends in this \.’vnit lit. with daughter of Timothy and Thomas of ‘‘AH things combined to make the year city.
    [Show full text]
  • Mercury Orbit Insertion March 18, 2011 UTC (March 17, 2011 EDT)
    Mercury Orbit Insertion March 18, 2011 UTC (March 17, 2011 EDT) A NASA Discovery Mission Media Contacts NASA Headquarters Policy/Program Management Dwayne C. Brown (202) 358-1726 [email protected] The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Mission Management, Spacecraft Operations Paulette W. Campbell (240) 228-6792 or (443) 778-6792 [email protected] Carnegie Institution of Washington Principal Investigator Institution Tina McDowell (202) 939-1120 [email protected] Mission Overview Key Spacecraft Characteristics MESSENGER is a scientific investigation . Redundant major systems provide critical backup. of the planet Mercury. Understanding . Passive thermal design utilizing ceramic-cloth Mercury, and the forces that have shaped sunshade requires no high-temperature electronics. it, is fundamental to understanding the . Fixed phased-array antennas replace a deployable terrestrial planets and their evolution. high-gain antenna. The MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space . Custom solar arrays produce power at safe operating ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) temperatures near Mercury. spacecraft will orbit Mercury following three flybys of that planet. The orbital phase will MESSENGER is designed to answer six use the flyby data as an initial guide to broad scientific questions: perform a focused scientific investigation of . Why is Mercury so dense? this enigmatic world. What is the geologic history of Mercury? MESSENGER will investigate key . What is the nature of Mercury’s magnetic field? scientific questions regarding Mercury’s . What is the structure of Mercury’s core? characteristics and environment during . What are the unusual materials at Mercury’s poles? these two complementary mission phases. What volatiles are important at Mercury? Data are provided by an optimized set of miniaturized space instruments and the MESSENGER provides: spacecraft tele commun ications system.
    [Show full text]