 |
||||
| Mercury | Messenger | BepiColombo | Resources | Planets |
The Planet Mercury:
Research Resources on the Internet
Latest news from the MESSENGER »»
Visit these resources for research into the planet Mercury and the interplanetary probes MESSENGER, BepiColombo and Mariner 10. You also may wish to bookmark this handy reference page for later use.
MESSENGER spacecraft:
MESSENGER is a scientific spacecraft built to investigate the planet Mercury. Its name is an acronym for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging. Along the way, MESSENGER will fly by Earth in August 2005, then twice by Venus in October 2006 and June 2007, and then three times by Mercury in January 2008, October 2008 and September 2009. Finally, MESSENGER will fly into orbit around Mercury in March 2011. It will send back science information during those numerous flybys and then for a year from its orbit around Mercury.
Artist's view of the interplanetary probe MESSENGER at Mercury. Click to enlarge image from NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington.Planet Mercury:
- MESSENGER Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
- MESSENGER FAQ JHU APL
- MESSENGER's Journey to Mercury JHU APL
- MESSENGER Science JHU APL
- MESSENGER's Mission JHU APL
- MESSENGER to Mercury NASA Kennedy Space Center
- Discovery mission MESSENGER NASA
- Discovery missions NASA JPL
- MESSENGER Mission to Mercury NASA
- Sending A MESSENGER to Mercury NASA
- MESSENGER – The Extreme Machine NASA
- Mercury – Land of Confusion NASA
- Mercury, Get Ready for a Close-Up NASA
- MESSENGER's Long and Winding Road NASA
- MESSENGER NASA Goddard NSSDC
Named for the mythological messenger of the gods, Mercury is a mysterious, hot, dense, rocky body. It is the planet nearest to the Sun and the eighth largest of the nine planets.
Mariner 10 spacecraft:
- Mercury NASA JPL
- Mercury JHU APL
- Mercury NASA Goddard NSSDC
- Mercury Nine Planets
- Mercury NASA Spacelink
- Mercury ASU
- Mercury NASA Space Station Picture of the Day
- Mercury Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Exploring the Planets
- Mercury Windows to the Universe
- Mercury StarChild - Planet Closest to the Sun
- Mercury NASA Solar System Bodies
- Mercury NASA GSFC - Ice on Mercury
- Mercury Overview of closest planet to the Sun
- Mercury StarDate
- Mercury LANL
- Mercury Studies Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona
Also known as Mariner Venus/Mercury 73 and Mariner-J, the spacecraft Mariner 10 flew to and by Mercury three times in 1974 and 1975. Much of what we know today about Mercury comes from data sent home to Earth during those flybys.
Mariner 10
BepiColombo:
- Mariner 10 Spacecraft NASA Goddard NSSDC
- NASA Projects: Mariner NASA
- Mercury Unveiled Mariner 10 data
- Mariner 10 to Mercury NASA JPL
- Welcome to the Planets NASA
- Mission and Spacecraft Library NASA JPL
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Space Exploration Agency (JAXA) Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) plan to send a spacecraft named BepiColombo to Mercury. It would be launched in 2011-12 just as MESSENGER's work is winding down. The BepiColombo project will include two spacecraft to map the planet and examine the planet's magnetosphere – Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO).
Discovery of Mercury:
Images of Mercury:
- How Mercury Was Discovered NASA JSC
Other Mercury and MESSENGER Resources:
- NSSDC Photo Gallery NASA GSFC
- Planetary Imaging Uppsala Astronomical Observatory, Sweden
- Mariner 10 Image Project Northwestern University
- Planetary Photojournal – Mercury NASA JPL
- Delta Rockets Boeing
- Solar System Exploration NASA
- Astronomy Cafe NASA Goddard
- Mercury Nomenclature Table USGS
- Planet Mercury Internet Resources NASA Goddard NSSDC
- Planet Mercury Internet Resources JHU APL
- Planet Mercury Research Resources STO
Learn more about the planet Mercury »»
Learn more about the MESSENGER spacecraft »»
Learn more about the planet Mercury and the MESSENGER probe »»
Read more about the Solar System . . . Star: The Sun Inner Planets: Mercury Venus Earth Mars Outer Planets: Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Other Bodies: Moons Asteroids Comets Beyond: Pioneers Voyagers
