Mercury. MESSENGER image of the cratered surface of the planet Mercury. The closest planet to the Sun,Mercury is a rocky world covered with meteorite impact craters. Its diameter (4880 kilometres) is less than half that of Earth and it has a surface area that is about the same as that of the Atlantic Ocean. 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 during the January 2008 flyby of Mercury,the first for over 30 years | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON / JHU-APL / NASA |
Bildgröße: | 5109 px × 3449 px |
Modell-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Eigentums-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Restrictions: | - |