NASA's Messenger spacecraft will zip past the surface of Mercury on Monday, allowing it to glimpse a third of the planet that has not yet been seen close up.
The flyby will take the car-sized probe within 200 kilometres of the surface, at a speed of more than 24,000 km per hour.
This is the probe's second close look at the scarred, rocky planet. During a flyby on 14 January, Messenger captured detailed images of a previously unseen 20% of the planet's surface.
Monday's flyby will produce more than 1200 images – the first of which will be transmitted back to Earth on Tuesday – to cover an additional 30% of the surface.
The flyby will take the car-sized probe within 200 kilometres of the surface, at a speed of more than 24,000 km per hour.
This is the probe's second close look at the scarred, rocky planet. During a flyby on 14 January, Messenger captured detailed images of a previously unseen 20% of the planet's surface.
Monday's flyby will produce more than 1200 images – the first of which will be transmitted back to Earth on Tuesday – to cover an additional 30% of the surface.
Full article on NewScientistSpace
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