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Press Release
May 3, 2011
Measuring Mercury’s Surface Composition
MESSENGER carries a Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) capable of measuring and characterizing gamma-ray emissions from the surface of Mercury.
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Press Release
Apr 26, 2011
Profiling Polar Craters with the Mercury Laser Altimeter
MESSENGER's Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) will measure the topography or surface relief of the northern hemisphere of Mercury. That data will be used to create topographic maps, which will help characterize the geologic history of the planet.
![This artist's concept shows a glowing patch of ultraviolet light near Saturn's north pole that occurs at the “footprint” of the magnetic connection between Saturn and its moon Enceladus.](/sites/default/files/2023-02/110420_Enceladus-Saturn%20Aurora.jpg)
Press Release
Apr 20, 2011
Icy Moon Zaps Saturn with Electron Beams
Scientists working with data from NASA’s Cassini mission — now in its sixth year of operations at Saturn — have discovered an electrical current running between Saturn and its moon Enceladus that creates an observable emission on the ringed planet.
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Press Release
Apr 19, 2011
Mercury’s Exosphere: A Brief Overview
One of the primary science goals of MESSENGER is to study Mercury's very thin atmosphere, or exosphere. Although observations of the exosphere from orbit have begun, these data must be carefully calibrated, and analysis is still underway.
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Press Release
Apr 4, 2011
MESSENGER Kicks Off Yearlong Campaign of Mercury Science
The spacecraft will fly around Mercury 700 times over the next 12 months, and its instruments will perform the first complete reconnaissance of the cratered planet’s geochemistry, geophysics, geological history, atmosphere, magnetosphere, and plasma environment.
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Press Release
Mar 29, 2011
MESSENGER Sends Back First Image of Mercury from Orbit
MESSENGER has delivered its first image since entering orbit about Mercury on March 17. It was taken today at 5:20 am EDT by the Mercury Dual Imaging System as the spacecraft sailed high above Mercury’s south pole, and provides a glimpse of portions of Mercury’s surface not previously seen by spacecraft.
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Press Release
Mar 28, 2011
NASA to Release MESSENGER’s First Orbital Images Of Mercury
NASA will release the first orbital image of Mercury's surface, including previously unseen terrain, on Tuesday afternoon, March 29.
![John Sommerer](/sites/default/files/2023-02/110321.jpg)
Press Release
Mar 22, 2011
Johns Hopkins University Names APL’s Sommerer as Inaugural Gilman Scholar
John Sommerer, head of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., has been named one of the inaugural Gilman Scholars by university President Ronald J. Daniels and Provost Lloyd B. Minor.
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Press Release
Mar 21, 2011
Spacecraft Data Confirm MESSENGER Orbit and Operation
Data from its first three days in orbit about Mercury have confirmed the initial assessment of the spacecraft team that MESSENGER is in its intended orbit and operating nominally.
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Press Release
Mar 17, 2011
MESSENGER Begins Historic Orbit around Mercury
At 9:10 p.m. EDT, engieers in the MESSENGER Mission Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., received the anticipated radiometric signals confirming nominal burn shutdown and successful insertion of the MESSENGER probe into orbit around the planet Mercury.