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First image of Mercury from orbit released
NASA released an image of the planet Mercury on Tuesday, the first obtained from a spacecraft orbiting the solar system's innermost planet.
The image is the first of many expected to come from the Messenger probe, the first space mission to orbit the planet closest to the sun. The Messenger spacecraft launched on August 3, 2004, and after flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury, started its historic orbit around Mercury on March 17.
The dominant rayed crater in the upper portion of the image is Debussy, according to NASA. The smaller crater, Matabei, with its dark rays, is visible to the west of Debussy. The bottom portion of the full image, which can be seen here,  is near Mercury's south pole and includes a region of Mercury's surface not previously seen by spacecraft.
Over the next three days, Messenger will acquire 1,185 more images in support of a phase to review spacecraft and instrument performance. The yearlong primary science phase of the mission will begin on April 4, during which it is expected to acquire more than 75,000 images.
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory built and operates the Messenger spacecraft and manages the Discovery-class mission for NASA. Messenger stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging.
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wow, how valuable. I cannot express how this enriches everyone's lives. Now go investigate and photograph cow patties in Nebraska field and it will have equal value. What a horrendous waste of resources.
I would venture that YOU have been an equally tremendous waste in resources.
I am so sick and tired of people whining about where the money spent to do these missions could have gone instead. Personally I think space discovery is amazing!! One of the few unique things we are able to do. Instead people choose to keep their small brains from understanding and appreciating something that is so much bigger than all of us. ISN'T ANYONE THE LEAST BIT CURIOUS AS TO HOW THE UNIVERSE WAS MADE??
Have a nice day. 🙂
God made the universe. There's no need to look any further.
I am going home...Earth living sucks...there are Canadians here!!! Klaatu to Mercury...Klaatu to Mercury...Forget about destroying Earth, get me the F outta here!!!!!
why is the image file name "Venus" if it is a picture of Mercury?
That's what I noticed last night when copying it to HD. It is filed as ... t1larg.messenger.venus.nasa.jpg ...
what do neocons think about this science stuf? ie just before their eyes glaze over with thoughts of al gore conspiracies!
Whoopee...basically looks like our moon. How many billions in taxpayer dollars was wasted on THIS? Just reason number 1 billion (or trillion, I might say) the economy is screwed up. Billions on a vain pursuit at best.
Science flies you to mercury
religion flies you into a building.
Indeed...that religion being Islam.
Stupid comments. grow up people!
Hmm...they sure this is mercury?, looks an awful lot like the moon...hmmmm
anybody notice the filename?.... http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/03/29/t1larg.messenger.venus.nasa.jpg...........venus?...hmmm
I did last night when copying image to HD. File name = t1larg.messenger.venus.nasa.jpg
Wasting my company's money reading these post but they are hilarious!! Some of "you people" are too funny! I can't take any of this seriously. By the way, the photo is nice but boring. Yeah, so what. Mercury is a hot rock but it's next the sun. WOW!!!
If it wasn't for Obamacare and his stance in Libya, that picture would be clearer.
I see that the field of Applied Moronics has overtaken, indeed, functionally replaced, the once popular fields of science and math. In this blog alone we find an overwhelming representation of the weak force of inanity, disturbed at random intervals by examples of the Awareness Theory.
Wow! It looks just like Mars!
No, it really dosen't.
I am so glad we are spending money to take photos of a planet that we knew had no life and the looks just like our moon. Way to goooooooo NASA! Why don't we go the other way and see if we can find life on a planet instead of wasting time on this crap!