NASA'S MESSENGER Spacecraft Begins Historic Orbit of Mercury

NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, Geochemistry, and Ranging, or MESSENGER spacecraft successfully achieved orbit around Mercury at approximately 9 p.m. EDT Thursday. This marks the first time a spacecraft has accomplished this engineering and scientific milestone at our solar system's innermost planet. Shown is reaction in MESSENGER mission control at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., as engineers received telemetry data confirming orbit insertion, plus animated depiction of the event. Among other goals, MESSENGER is expected to detect whether ice exists at Mercury's poles.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• NASA
• Messenger
• Spacecraft

[ewgeesjames]

Historic event: 6000 views

Rebecca Black - Friday: 25millon

Humanity, you suck.

[macnutz]

Congrats. nice clapping, nice simulation but more information would be nicer. :)

[thegreeensky]

that was awesome! congrats...

[XabiAlonsosCousin]

@Dorisequador Do you relaise that such a Voyage would take 50 Billion years? And thats just one way to the nearest galaxy (Andromeda) Thats a long time to be glued to the TV. Plus you mus add 2.2 Million years for each picture to be sent back.

"Let them close down. Who cares"

Yeah lets fall back from the brink of enlightenment to a couple of thousands years of ridiculous myth, susperstition and religious bollocks, great idea

[Dorisequador]

@ewgeesjames First off what has Nasa given us except fake video's from hollywood or cartoon puictures of Mars and crap?

That tax payers money we give them they should make a incredable video of leaving earth going at incredable speeds 30,000 miles per hour rockets.. go by the moon then mars then into another galazy then back and show us a great video special then people would be glued to the TV now we got shit so who gives afuck about Nasa Let them close down . Who cares.

[d00d00dumb87]

Lets go to uranus

[askjiir]

Congratulations from Norway.

[XTheXDevilzX]

@redspider2005 WOW corecting NASA

[redspider2005]

Actually, Messenger is the second spacecraft to reach Mercury three decades after Mariner 10, and now it becomes the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. Mariner 10 mapped 45 percent of Mercury. Before entering orbit, Messenger mapped 98 percent of Mercury. Messenger will map both poles of Mercury to complete 100 percent mapping of Mercury soon. This year, Messenger will analyze the possible ice water on both poles and Mercury's magnetosphere. Messenger's one-year primary mission began on April 4.

[ResiusOnline]

@sammysf415

No, there was Mariner 10 in the mid 70s.

This is the second spacecraft to orbit Mercury.

[Ialwaysratezero]

@Yourburntstar You should be friendlier when you give out information to people, its a lot easier to get people to listen to you.

[Yourburntstar]

yeah too bad Nasa only releases black and white images.. and all you people actually think thats the color of the planet? ha. come on now people get with technology. not that hard to figure out. and FYI in this video, thats not even a real image of the planet, you can clearly tell its a bit-map "pretty much a image" projected onto a 3-D object. which is suppose to make it look real. but if you've made video games, like i have you'd know that.

still this is really really interesting.