NASA’s press conference: MESSENGER reveals new details of planet Mercury

NASA will announce new findings about Mercury during a press conference on Thursday, Sept. 29th. Tune in at 2 pm EDT to find out what the MESSENGER spacecraft has been learning about the innermost planet.

MESSENGER Spacecraft Reveals New Details of Mercury
2 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Sept. 29

NASA will host a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 29, to discuss new data and images from the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury.

NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft conducted fifteen laps through the inner solar system for more than six years before achieving the historic orbit insertion on March 18.

Briefing participants are:
— Ed Graykzeck, MESSENGER program manager, NASA Headquarters, Washington
— James Head, III, professor of geological sciences, Brown University
— David Blewett, MESSENGER participating scientist and staff scientist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, Md.
— Patrick Peplowski, staff scientist, APL
— Thomas Zurbuchen, professor of space science and aerospace engineering, University of Michigan

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live here

Immediately before the teleconference, related images and supporting briefing information will be available here

Mercury’s orbit is so close to the Sun that we can only see it from Earth either just before sunrise or just after sunset. Below is a diagram of the orbits of the inner planets, as they appear today. In this view, the planets are all traveling counterclockwise about the Sun, and the Earth is rotating counterclockwise about its axis as well.

Where is MESSENGER?

Where is Mercury?