Categories: MercuryVideos

A Tribute to MESSENGER

If you’re reading this then you probably love space exploration, and if you love space exploration then you know how awesome the MESSENGER mission is — the incredibly successful venture by NASA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington to orbit and study the first rock from the Sun in unprecedented detail. Since entering orbit around Mercury on March 18, 2011, MESSENGER has mapped nearly 100% of the planet’s surface, found unique landforms called hollows residing in many of its craters, and even discovered evidence of water ice at its poles! That’s a lot to get accomplished in just two years!

The video above, assembled by Mark ‘Indy’ Kochte, is a tribute to the many impressive achievements of the MESSENGER mission, featuring orbital animations (love that MESSENGER shimmy!), surface photos, and the approach to the planet. Enjoy!

Images and animation stills courtesy NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington. Music: “Mercury Ridge” by Simon Wilkinson. Video creation and time-lapse animations by Mark ‘Indy’ Kochte.

Jason Major

A graphic designer in Rhode Island, Jason writes about space exploration on his blog Lights In The Dark, Discovery News, and, of course, here on Universe Today. Ad astra!

Recent Posts

What’s the Link Between Gamma Ray Bursts and Supernovae? It Might Be Binary Stars

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are some of the most violent events in the universe. Some have…

14 hours ago

Astronomers are Working to Put a Radio Telescope on the Far Side of the Moon by 2025

Technicians at Berkeley Lab are building an experiment that will conduct radio astronomy on the…

16 hours ago

Supernovae Struck the Earth 3 Million and 7 Million Years Ago

A recent study examines how the Earth was hit by blasts from supernovae (plural form…

19 hours ago

The World's Largest Radio Telescope has Scanned Barnard's Star for Extraterrestrial Signals

Barnard's Star is the second closest star system to Earth, at a distance of 5.96…

1 day ago

Let the Robot Take the Wheel. Autonomous Navigation in Space

Tracking spacecraft as they traverse deep space isn't easy. So far, it's been done manually,…

2 days ago

The Milky Way's Mass is Much Lower Than We Thought

How massive is the Milky Way? According to a new study using data from ESA's…

2 days ago