Mercury. MESSENGER image of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. At upper right is the giant Caloris basin. The MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space E

---

Mercury. MESSENGER image of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. At upper right is the giant Caloris basin. The MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft was launched from Earth in August 2004. After a series of flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury, to slow it down, the spacecraft will enter orbit around Mercury in March 2011. It will then start a year-long mission to map and study the surface. This image was obtained during MESSENGER's first flyby of Mercury in January 2008.

---

Size: 4193px × 4193px
Photo credit: © NASA/JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY/CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 2008, 21st, astronomical, astronomy, basin, black--white, caloris, century, cut, cut-, cut-outs, cutout, cutouts, environment, exploration, flyby, geochemistry, gibbous, image, january, mercury, messenger, mission, monochrome, nasa, outs, planet, planetary, probe, ranging, satellite, science, solar, space, spacecraft, surface, system