Artist's impression of the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft as it leaves Earth, following its Aug. 3, 2004 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. aboard a Delta II rocket. The spacecraft will fly past Earth once, Venus twice and Mercury three times before starting a yearlong orbital study of the innermost planet in March 2011.
For information regarding the use of images, see the MESSENGER image use policy .
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Mercury | Venus |
System | ||
Target Type | Planet | |
Mission | MESSENGER | |
Instrument Host | MESSENGER | |
Host Type | Orbiter | |
Instrument | ||
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Artwork, Color | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2004-08-03 | |
Date in Caption | 2004-08-03 | |
Image Credit | NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18148 | |
Identifier | PIA18148 |