This animation is of MESSENGER's second flyby of Mercury that shows the instrument observations planned to occur during the encounter.
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.
Video Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Music: Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Flash Conversion and Final Editing: Scientific Frontline
Source
:
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
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