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Probe "Messenger" approach the Mercury.. / October 1, 2009 /

Space probe «Messenger» in the night of 29 to 30 September 2009 for the third time friends with Mercury, the official site of the project. The probe flew at an altitude of 228 kilometers above the surface of the planet, making the images have never been studied regions.

At present, the apparatus has already emerged from behind Mercury and renewed contact with Earth. According to the engineers involved in maintenance of the mission, the system apparatus working in normal mode, and as soon as it starts to transmit the collected data. The first images of Mercury, made «messenger» during a rendezvous with Mercury, will be published later day.

One of the goals of the new rapprochement is to change the trajectory of the apparatus. The fact that he was moving closer to its orbit around the Sun. However, after Orbits «MESSENGER» change so that by 2011 it will be released into orbit around Mercury. As a result, the spacecraft will be the first artificial satellite of the planet closest to the Sun.

Probe «Messenger» was launched in 2004 to study the geological and mineralogical composition of Mercury and its magnetic field. The device has twice came closer to the planet, passing at an altitude of about 100 kilometers above its surface. During the work of the apparatus was opened by a large number of craters, many of which have been assigned names. So there are craters on Mercury Glinka, Dali, Hemingway and many other famous personalities.

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