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NASA mission set to orbit Mercury

Nature (2011)Cite this article

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The planet's shadowy craters, tenuous atmosphere and iron core are targets of the MESSENGER probe.

It's a long road to the Solar System's innermost planet. Because of Mercury's position deep in the Sun's gravity well, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has needed a six-year flight, passing Earth once, Venus twice and already passing Mercury itself three times, to shed enough energy to orbit the planet.

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  1. Adam Mann
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To read more about NASA's plans for planetary exploration over the coming decade, see US Mars mission takes pole position.

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News and Views: Message from Mercury

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MESSENGER mission

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Mann, A. NASA mission set to orbit Mercury. Nature (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2011.142

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