Fact Sheet
Getting Close
The Messenger spacecraft snapped this view of a crescent Mercury, from a distance of about a half-million miles, a few hours before flying just 125 miles (200 km) above the planet on January 14. This is the first close encounter with Mercury in more than 30 years, and the first of several scheduled for Messenger. It will enter orbit around the planet in 2011. [NASA/JHUAPL/Carnegie]
|