Mercury. MESSENGER image of the previously unseen hemisphere of Mercury,the closest planet to the Sun. The MESSENGER (Mercury Surface,Space Environment,Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft was launched from Earth in August 2004. After a series of flybys of Earth,Venus and Mercury,to slow the spacecraft down,it will enter orbit around Mercury in March 2011 on a year-long mission to map and study the surface. This image was obtained about 80 minutes after MESSENGER's closest approach to Mercury on 14th January 2008,when the spacecraft was at a distance of about 27000 kilometres | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON / JHU-APL / NASA |
Bildgröße: | 2976 px × 2976 px |
Modell-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Eigentums-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Restrictions: | - |