MESSENGER flyby of Mercury

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Credit: NASAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics LaboratoryCarnegie Institution of Washington
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

At 2:04 p.m. EST on Monday, MESSENGER skimmed 200 kilometers (124 miles) above the surface of Mercury in the first of three flybys of the planet. Initial indications from the radio signals indicate the spacecraft is still operating nominally. The first science data return from the flyby was received today, just minutes before the closest approach point with the planet, as planned.


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