Mercury up close & personal (APOD 30 Sep 2008)

[neufer]

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080930.html
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http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/mer_flyby2.html

<<On October 6, 2008, the MESSENGER spacecraft will pass a mere 200 kilometers (124 miles) above Mercury's surface for the mission's second flyby of its target planet. The flyby¹s primary purpose is to use Mercury for a gravity assist, a crucial encounter needed to enable MESSENGER, in 2011, to become the first spacecraft ever to enter into an orbit around Mercury. Though the gravity assist is the top priority for the flyby, MESSENGER's second flyby of Mercury also provides an opportunity to make significant and exciting science observations and measurements.>>
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http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sci ... age_id=205

<<On October 6, 2008 MESSENGER will again fly by Mercury, and this time the 1287 planned MDIS images will cover much of the remaining portion of Mercury’s surface not yet seen by spacecraft. Mercury will appear as a thin crescent during the inbound portion of MESSENGER’s second Mercury flyby and as a nearly full disk during the outbound portion of the encounter. MESSENGER’s second flyby will result in nearly global spacecraft imaging coverage of Mercury’s surface for the first time.>>
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