NASA probe to make closest flyby of Mercury

14:17, 29 September 2009

MOSCOW. September 29. KAZINFORM NASA's Messenger probe makes its third and final flyby of Mercury on Tuesday, gathering data on the planet's surface, magnetic field and atmosphere before returning to enter orbit in 2011; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

The U.S. space agency said the spacecraft will approach to 228 kilometers above the surface at 21:54 GMT (12:54 a.m.Wednesday Moscow time) for its closest look yet at the planet in an essential maneuver that uses Mercury's gravity to slow the probe down.

Messenger was launched in August 2004 and has completed almost three-quarters of its 7.9 billion km (4.9 billion miles) voyage to enter orbit around the closest planet to the sun in mid-March 2011.

"This flyby will be our last close look at the equatorial regions of Mercury, and it is our final planetary gravity assist, so it is important for the entire encounter to be executed as planned," said Sean Solomon, principal investigator at the Carnegie Institution in Washington.

"As enticing as these flybys have been for discovering some of Mercury's secrets, they are the hors d'oeuvres to the mission's main course - observing Mercury from orbit for an entire year," he added in a NASA press release; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti.

See www.en.rian.ru for full version

World News