Mercury's hidden side revealed

Posted: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 3:40 PM by Alan Boyle

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

The giant Caloris impact basin is at upper right in
this image of Mercury, captured by NASA's Messenger
probe. Click on the image for a bigger version.

In the wake of this week's successful flyby, the team behind NASA's Messenger probe has released the first picture of a side of the planet Mercury never seen before – a moonlike landscape covered with craters and bright material turned up by impacts.

Yet another image presents a new, up-close view of a double-ringed crater named Vivaldi, which was last seen during the Mariner 10 flyby more than 30 years ago. From here on out, images from the Messenger flyby should be dribbling out on a regular basis via the science team's Web site.

Until now, Mariner 10's flybys in 1974 and 1975 have provided the definitive views of surface details for our solar system's closest-in planet (and the smallest, if you don't count places like Pluto or Eris). Mariner missed seeing more than half the planet, however. This time around, the $427 million Messenger mission - which was launched back in 2004 - will be seeing the whole picture, during three flybys as well as a yearlong orbital mapping phase that's due to begin in 2011.

Monday's initial flyby came as close as 124 miles (200 kilometers) to the surface, zipping past at 16,000 mph (25,000 kilometers per hour). The spacecraft's camera captured about 1,200 images, and the science team is now checking through the best of the bunch, one frame at a time, mission spokeswoman Paulette Campbell told me from the team's headquarters at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland.

The first look, taken from a distance of 17,000 miles (27,000 kilometers) and released Tuesday, reveals one of the prime targets for the imaging team: the 800-mile-wide (1,300-kilometer-wide) Caloris impact basin, one of the biggest and youngest craters in the solar system. Mariner 10 spotted the eastern side of Caloris, but the western portions have never been seen before.

"The new image shows the complete basin interior and reveals that it is brighter than the surrounding regions and may therefore have a different composition," Messenger scientists said in their image advisory. "Darker smooth plains completely surround Caloris, and many unusual dark-rimmed craters are observed inside the basin."

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

This image of Mercury's surface, taken by NASA's
Messenger probe on Monday, shows the double-
ringed Vivaldi crater in shadow at upper right. Click
on the image for a bigger version.

Today's picture, the second in Messenger's series, shows the 125-mile-wide (200-kilometer-wide) Vivaldi crater, which boasts a double ring and was glimpsed by Mariner 10. This view - taken from a distance of 11,000 miles (18,000 kilometers) - shows new details, including a broad depression overlapped by Vivaldi's lower left rim.

Right now, there are more questions than answers about what Messenger is seeing - but that's what this mission is all about. In addition to paying tribute to the messenger of the Roman gods, the probe's name is a tortured acronym for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging. To cover all those bases, the spacecraft is carrying a dual imaging system (juggling wide-angle and narrow-angle cameras), four spectrometers, a laser ranging device, a magnetometer and a Doppler radar to gather data about Mercury's mass distribution.

By the time Messenger is done, sometime in the next decade, scientists should be able to resolve some of Mercury's mysteries - such as why the planet is so dense, where its vanishingly thin atmosphere comes from, and whether or not frozen water lurks in deep shadowed craters. The answers should start coming in by Jan. 30, when the science team is due to share their first impressions in a NASA news briefing. Until then, be sure to check the Web sites at APL as well as NASA for your daily dose of Mercury.

Update for 9:30 p.m. ET Jan. 16: Oops, they did it again ... The Messenger team has released yet another picture of Mercury's surface, showing a weird-looking terrain of craters and cliffs. And then there's this picture of a never-before-seen crater with bright rays and dribbling craters extending outward. How long will it be before someone spots the "Face on Mercury"?

Update for 1:30 p.m. ET Jan. 17: ... And again! Today's additions include an even clearer view of a double-ring crater and a look at Mercury's horizon. From here on out, you're on your own to keep tabs on the messages from Messenger.

Update for 9:15 p.m. ET Jan. 18: Some Cosmic Log correspondents have been asking about the oval appearance of most of the craters in the pictures released so far. My guess was that the ovals came through because the spacecraft was taking its pictures from an angle rather than from directly overhead. Ralph McNutt, the Messenger mission's project scientist, confirmed my surmise in a voicemail:

"The craters that look like they're oval in shape really are the result of the oblique viewing perspective. We'll be working through some of that as the processing continues."

McNutt reminded me to tune in on Jan. 30 for the big news briefing, and so I'll remind you as well.

EMAIL THIS

Comments

The internet is great for really confusing issues. I wonder... Did we really land on the moon? or... Is there really a base already on the moon? Are there buildings on Mars? Have UFO's attacked our rockets during launch? Do UFO's exist (extraterrestrials)? Are we already in contact with aliens? Do we already have weapons in space?

It is getting hard to believe what you hear and even see with so many government cover-ups and so much misinformation passed our way by this administration.
Maybe the 400+ million went to a star wars type device and you really are looking at pictures of the moon.

I guess we just have to live with these boring moon type images because if there was any information or pictures that were really interesting... we would probably never hear about it or see it!

P. Burns (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:03 PM)

Milt, this is in the bible too. "When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be punished; for the slave is his money."

—Exodus 21:20-21 (RSV)

Should we resort back to this under your "faith-based initiatives"? If the Bible were to be used as the sole source of information and knowledge we would still be stuck in the middle ages. Oh... and FYI, look around, open a book (other than the Bible), educate yourself. Not everyone with a mind sees Genesis as the literal history of creation of the earth. Also, if indeed the earth is a creation of God, I would think Mercury would be as well. Should we not explore all his creations that we may be educated in his great glory?

Mark, New Martinsville, WV (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:03 PM)

Just the idea of performing such a journey a couple of hundred years ago would have got you burned at the stake (in Salem anyway).
I am endlessly fascinated by the almost miraculous feat of space exploration. Think of how far we have come in such a relatively short time. We have to keep pushing and exploring if we ever hope to branch out to other planets. Earth won't be here forever and if we ever hope to continue our species we will have to leave eventually.

John, Boston, MA (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:04 PM)

Both exploration of our solar system and beyond and correcting problems here, on our third rock from the sun, can be obtained if we as a planet, not as a nation, start to focus all this time, money, energy and resources put into killing each other, into ways that we can make life for every man, women, child and creature better.

Bob, Sinking Spring, PA (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:06 PM)

It sounds like a lot, but $427M is not all that much money in governmental scales. For instance, that amount would pay for about a day and a half of our operations in Iraq. Give me the study of Mercury any day over that... but to the person who suggested pouring the money into the rathole that is "faith-based initiatives", may I facetiously say, "god forbid"! That would truly be a waste of good money.

Larry K, Wisconsin (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:09 PM)

I sit here, a highly paid computer professional, surfing the Internet from work. I realize that my job, the computer I use to see these pictures of Mercury on the Internet, and much of what I take for granted in my modern life, would not have been possible without NASA and the Apollo program developing technology to miniaturize electronics so we could go to the moon. The advances in technology developed for this trip to Mercury and other space programs will pay huge dividends for future generations. I figure that $427 million dollars divided by 300 million people in the United States, I paid about a buck and a quarter to see this picture. I can't even buy a poor person something from the value meal for that. I've got about another hundred $ of my annual taxes that could be spent on NASA. If we all did that then NASA's budget would be around $30 billion, which is about double what it is now. The improvements in technology and resulting improvements of quality of life would help out future generations much more than passing along the deficits we are running up now. As for the poor, register at your local community college for $20 per credit, get an education and then get a better job. Don't tell me your too busy. I have a full time job and I just got accepted to work on my Ph.D. via distance education (which is a direct result of the Internet and the advances of the Apollo program). If there is a will there is a way to a better life.

Shad, San Diego (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:15 PM)

Why must space exploration (or any other science) always result in "benefit" to mankind? Why should we always expect a better "toaster" from science?

It is sickening to see scientists trying to explain the benefits of space exploration to people.

What is wrong with persuit of knowledge for the sake of knowledge? I am interested in knowing the origin of the universe, life, the elementary particles, time, etc. We may never know everything, but that shouldn't stop us from trying. I will take whatever we can get in my life time with gratitute. With or without a better "toaster"!

And the dillusional among us can continue to look into the Bible, Koran, Torah, Vedas, etc.

Full Gandoo, Vancouver, Canada (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:31 PM)

I just can't believe the posts here. While I find many enlightened individuals here who are in support of our exploration of space, there are too many who would rather stick their heads in the sand and ignore the important discoveries that are being made here. We seem more concerned with Britney Speers mental state than the real news of what is going on in the world.

I would agree with some that we do need money for those in need, the poor, the disenfranchised, and the sick. However, in the end, the discoveries made here will, in time, benefit future generations. I look at the bright side, at least there is $427 million LESS being spent on war, death and destruction.

This only goes to show how science and education is being denigrated and the true "dumbing down" of America. If this trend continues, then surely we will not be a nation of explorers but a nation that has given up.

China made that mistake almost a thousand years ago. The decided to build a wall to keep people out and isolated themselves, refusing to explore further. The result was several hundred years of being conquered and exploited by outsiders. They have realized their mistake and now they have an active space program and are expecting to be on the moon by 2020.

I, for one, want America to be on the forefront of knowledge. However, with attitudes like these, I have to wonder if America will retain its leadership in the world.

Stephen Koehler, St. Louis, MO, USA (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:41 PM)

Why do you people even visit the space news section? They explore not only to learn what could/is going to happen to us, and to see if there is a possability for us to live and evolve elsewhere in this vast universe. But also for us geeks who like to see pics of stuff like this...so back off!

Larry, Durant, OK (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:59 PM)

For all of you crying about healthcare, blame your doctors...not NASA and space exploration. The insurance companies wouldn't have to charge individuals so much money if it weren't for the excessive doctor charges. If doctors would cut all their charges in half, most of the population would have no problem getting healthcare.

As far as Mercury goes, we should have at least one probe around every planet and moon in our solar system and we should be testing new propulsion technologies in space and on a regular basis, so we can stream line production and get to these places quicker and more efficiently. The way I see it, we are moving a little too slowly...need to start acting like the Chinese are going to put a man on Mars first. People do not seem to move quickly unless you give them a reason. Americans need some real competition. Oh, and as for the education of the people we need to build these technologies - GET OUR TROOPS OUT OF ALL THOSE COUNTRIES AND CLOSE DOWN THOSE BASES. We could throw the extra 900 Billion + dollars per year in to all kinds of good ideas such as alternative energies.

Maybe gas would go down to $1.25 again in the process.

Bloggerrich, Fort Lauderdale, FL (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 11:19 PM)

If you want to have better education for your children then help them study. If you want better heath care...take better care of yourself. This stuff is more important than you or me.

clark (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 11:57 PM)

I for one am happy that NASA and others are exploring other planets. I even wrote to my senator asking him to put a bill through congress so that we as individuals could choose where our tax dollars go. I would gladly give all of my tax to NASA.

Dennis Lokken, West Fargo, ND (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:00 AM)

NASA's budget was $16.8 billion in 2007 - compared to a Federal budget of $2.77 trillion. So NASA's budget is miniscule compared to the Federal budget. I think we as as nation should spend more on science and research. There are alot of other places in the pork barrel budget where the government can save money for Social Security, Medicare and health care.

Vance, Bellevue, WA (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:04 AM)

Most people pay their house payment, food and electric before they go out and buy that new boat or other expensive item. So why not take care of home and country first and then when that has been resolved we can go back to space. I also agree that space is important. I just feel this is not the right time.

K Moore (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:23 AM)

If it was up to the likes of Milt, there would be no space exploration in any way. We have...GENESIS!

Also, spending 425 mill on "faith based initiatives" could be done in a heartbeat if all the faiths got together and started the dole. Too bad a lot of those "faiths" are quite adept at filling their own pockets.

I remember when fly-bys was huge science for the public...anticipating what Mars looked like from Mariner and the early Mercury missions were practically up there with the moon missions. And of course the pioneer fly-bys of the early '80's of the gas giants. Fly-bys are little more than a "passing curiousity" now that Mars has been conquered.

Thomas Ashby, Calgary (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:23 AM)

I am personally glad to see that we are exploring the planets in our solar system. Look at all the wonderful things we now use on a daily basis that make our life worth living because of the Space technology inventions. Cordless (everything), new products, and the list goes on.
If we can just keep NASA from hiding all the information they have found out about the Moon and Mars, just for starters, we would be way ahead in our knowledge about who we are and where things like the pymarids have come from. I.E. read the book, "DARK MISSION" by R.C. Hoagland. A real eye opener...

Jerry L. Sweet Pueblo, Colorado (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:39 AM)

Alan - I think it's not entirely fair of many of the posters here to make fun of science-deprived readers and religious believers. The latter at least have an explanation of the beginnings of the universe, the solar system, Earth, and Man himself. The rest of us do not, and are still searching. But that's no reason to treat them with such disrespect.

And perhaps science should take a page from private enterprise and not engage in putting a price on everything that it accomplishes. That only serves to irritate and arouse resentment in many who see how badly financed much of their life is in comparison.

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON, Canada (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:07 AM)

can someone explain how gravity assist works?

Harry Boy, Vancouver (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:40 AM)

Ahem . . . I must point out that 500M$ = 1.5 days of funding for the Iraq war. Yup, that's 36 hours. Versus 427M$ over 10 years for Messenger? I'll take the second ANY DAY....

Oh, by the way, that's *just* for the Iraq war (source: Congressional Budget Office). And you could dump the whole space program budget into S.S. and it wouldn't make a ripple. What a deal.

As far as Mercury goes, people WHO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR see a heckuva lot more than a quote "dead rock".....

JC, Fairbanks, AK (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 2:45 AM)

Oh, and Mercury *was* created by a god: The Flying Spaghetti Monster. And *I too* have book that says so!

JC, Fairbanks, AK (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 2:56 AM)

To those who decry spending on space programs rather that health care, let's consider the facts. NASA budget is about $17 billion, most of which probably is in the form of compensation, which gets recycled in the economy when the employees consume. The remainder goes to suppliers, facilities, etc., and also circulates throughout the economy. In other words, the money isn't lost in space, the only true loss is the materials that went into the Messenger probe. On the other hand, health care spending in the U.S. last year was $2.1 trillion. Do the math...NASA's budget is less than 1% of health care spending.

Red Miller, East St. Louis, IL (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 3:35 AM)

My response is to the stupid ignorant comments from people that live in a bubble (before the last century)It is an honor to see images from a planet or moon. The reason why we know it looks like the moon is because mariner was there. For those preaching your religion, You can stick your faith in your ***. That is about all it is good for, seeing as Galileo had to deal with the same people.

Robert Las Vegas (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 3:36 AM)

2006
Department of Defense: $499 billion
Department of Education: $117 billion
NASA: $15 billion

That's 3% of what we spend for our national defense.

I think NASA has done a great job since it's "cash cow" hayday of the 50s & 60s working with the limited budget the do get.

Now imagine if they kept this lean-mean mentality and we gave them $45 billion...

With our ancestors, our curiosity made us trek "over that hill" to see what was on the other side. NASA is making those same steps for all of us. We can't march over the hill to see the backside of Mercury, but a few pennies from each of us brought those pictures you see to your video screen.

Remember that and be proud.

SJA, Minnesota (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 3:37 AM)

The craters in the picture above are all ovals. Is this an artifact of the photo, pixel-stretching by the browser, or has Mercury's strong magnetic field warped them?

As for cost of the space program, it's pretty minor in the scheme of things. $16B last year. We spend that in 2 months in Iraq, for no good reason at all.

Jon, Winnipeg, Canada (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 4:04 AM)

I'm tired of the morons who think we just launch the money into space and let it float away into the Vacuum. All the money is spent here right on EARTH.

Would you rather put all those scientists out of work who worked hard to get where they are so you can give handouts to bums who can't support themselves?

Nasa's Budget is about .05% of the national budget. As it stands right now social programs are taking up like 50% of the budget. So seriously stop with the fix the problems on Earth crap. The only way the problems will be fixed is if everyone is dead. Barring that throwing .05% more money at it isn't going to do anything but loose people their jobs.

Isamu Dyson (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 4:24 AM)

Let's fix all the problems. First we pass the Fairtax act. We then increase the "prebate" to eliminate all the hungry people in this country (and eliminate the naysayers). Our products will be much more competitive on the world market so our economy expands.

We then experiment by further increasing the prebate to cover payments for education. Families use that money to pay teachers to teach their children. School budgets decrease since teachers are paid by families. Teacher quality goes up as poor teachers find other more suitable work and education attracts people that wanted to teach, but chose other fields because the pay was better.

Naturally, our more educated children would be better prepared in math and sciences (and all subjects) and many would want jobs in advanced fields. Each state would strive to satisfy those needs with seed money for scientific pursuits such as a space agency in each state. Companies would soon get on board by figuring out how to better value resources in our solar system and beyond.

$427 million would become small change. Within a century, a home on Earth could easily be paid off in a decade and a car within a year. Bill Gates would be complaining about the long-trip to his vacation home on Europa - but no one would really have the time to listen to such complaints.

-------------------------------------
I don't think "Jeff - Bristol, TN" should be cutting down God. The folks that wrote "In the beginning God created the heaven and earth" would certainly use different words today since God obviously must have gotten the Big Bang going to create all this stuff. What, does "Jeff - Bristol, TN" think there is a separate God for every inhabited planet? People like Jeff certainly do God a disservice.

Harry, Eagan, MN (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 4:39 AM)

Would all you bleeding hearts quit crying about the people who could "benefit" from the money being spent by NASA. Dependancy on anything but ones self is not good. If you took money from the space agency and gave it to the so called needy, all you would be doing is increasing their need to rely on government. Simple fact is that most of the "needy" folks are in the mess they are in because of the poor choices they made. As far as I am concerned the money they are getting should be taken away and given to NASA. I would much prefer to know my tax dollars are being spent to send a man to mars than to support some unwed mother of 4 with another one on the way. Life is truely what you make it, and I know that sometimes people need a helping hand but when I hear people sniveling about things like this I cant help but wonder if their parents ever stopped giving them a weekly allowance. Do not confuse compassion with being a sucker, the only thing you would accomplish my taking money from NASA and moving it to those who are "less fortunate", would be creating more people who would rather recieve than contribute

self reliant in tampa (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 4:48 AM)

For those not up to date on current and past government practices; if we give the money spent by NASA back to the "government" to do good with, will any good be done with it, or will it just be wasted like 80% of the rest of my tax dollars. I work at a government facility, I know. As for the religious take on this matter, religion and science can easily co-exist. God gave us each of us this fine organ called a brain, so we use, to further our own ideals, whatever they may be. NASA is not a waste of money, nor is space exploration.

Joe DUcharme (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 7:11 AM)

Jeff: Perhaps I should reread your book. I thought it says people go to Heaven, not Mercury.

Come to think of it, why are you suggesting that Heaven is unbearably hot (by saying it's on Mercury)? I thought Hell was the unbearably hot place. I'm confused now...

Tony - Knoxville, TN (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 7:20 AM)

Saying these are just costly collections of craters is like saying any book is just yet another costly collection of the same letters... The point is not the "beauty" of the pictures and data, but what we can learn from them.

Elena, Varese, Italy (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 7:23 AM)

One of the interesting partial ironies of space exploration is the search for complex and simple forms of life on other worlds, while at the same time we destroy all other forms of complex and simple life on our own planet.

On the other hand, it is only because world governments and individuals have have spent considerable resources on the sciences, and on scientific research, and on the protection of the other highly intelligent non-human species we still share our planet with, that we have been able to partialy save until now, most species of elephants, whales, dolphins, and several species of our very human resembling and very closely related primate cousins, at least for the time being.

I am sure that if the "bibles-and-belief-before- brains" crowd, and the "Human-government-handout-species-before-all-other-species,-and-all-other species-be-damned" crowd, had their way, there would be no other intelligent lifeforms left on our planet. Just a pathetic handfull of largely mindless domesticated farm-species (humans included). We would have trophy-hunted and eaten all other species! (Look out aliens, here we come!)

I personaly am not sure I believe in the "let's see how many people we can fit onto planet earth and subadequately feed and provide for, to hell with everything else" approach to human social management.
I hope that we can continue to evolve away from this approach.

So I say, go science!
(I hope that you can save us from ourselves!)

Grumpy Old Sod, Victoria, BC (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 7:23 AM)

First, to the pitiable religious folks who delude themselves into thinking that any religion is the one true one, or that any religion offers truth the way science does, I feel very sorry for you. I make my life meaningful by way of my actions, not because I label myself Christian or Hindu or whatever. It's time to evolve, people. Exploring the solar system is key to our survival since these "boring pictures of the moon" are in fact, first steps towards finding and utilizing resources that will be essential to our survival.

Second, to the "why not spend that on healthcare or social security" pundits, NASA's most extravagant non-manned missions cost a tiny fraction of the government defense budget...in fact, a modest space probe mission to a nearby planet costs less than the budget overruns on a major aircraft contract. We don't need a new bomber...we need to learn, to find out what's out there, to find out what the solar system holds for us in our future...mining asteroids, colonizing orbital or other sites, expanding and enriching all of humanity and relieving Earth of her burden to provide resources.

We need to let go of our childish and selfish notions of religion and selfish priorities and rededicate our entire species to itself, and to our planet. Let go of fear of the unknown and primitive superstitions; choose instead to marvel at the wonders of the universe as it is, to marvel at human ingenuity and the triumph of the human spirit.

I believe in many sins, and these sins are sins because they are fundamental to human need, not because some made up God told us in some made up fable. These sins are hate, greed, selfishness...and ignorance. Genesis is a myth, like any other creation myth; our world is today, and we can strive to understand it by reaching out with the brave hand of science and rejecting the dark and ignorant hand of fearful religion. Religion does not have to be exclusive of science, but sadly, religion seems to make science out to be the enemy. And why not? After all, the Christian church used to burn people at the stake for saying the Earth revolved around the sun….anything which threatens the church’s fearful hold over our ignorance and need for meaning is apparently a sin to the religions of the world. But there is another choice….

Science and the space program are Humanities ticket to survival and a prosperous future, not religion or narrow-minded short-sightedness.

These images and what we will learn from them are worth more than any religious text could ever be. Keep up the good work, NASA!!

Chris Leary (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 7:46 AM)

Nice comment from Reno above. Indeed, I'd much rather study a Planet for $450 million, than say, give the Pakistan government 10 billion to pocket. The former leads to scientific knowledge and advancment, the latter is just a waste. All you complainers need to get a grip and realize there is ALOT of money wasted, and 99% of it is wasted here on Earth, not in space. And that goes for many many other things. And please, the NASA budget is a drop in the bucket to what other U.S. agencies spend. For something such as great and important as space, I wouldn't have a problem spending 100 billion a year. If mankind ultimately wants to survive, it'll eventually have to leave this rock called Earth anyway. The Earth won't last forever. Go NASA!

Glen, Albany, NY (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:06 AM)

All the people saying we should spend billions of dollars on our healthcare - what a joke! Must go and look at History. Every great nation, without exploration, has FAILED. How many BILLIONS do you think we're spending now? Why not FIX the healthcare system we have instead of going to a KNOWN GVT SYSTEM that NEVER works......

Anyone remember the fall of the Roman Empire? Hmmmmm....when you take away your ability to learn - you begin wanting programs that never work - now that's intelligent!

Jason (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:19 AM)

To all thoese out there who are so negative about what is going on, (exploring of space), I say this to you.
If our fore-fathers had taken the same position as you do now, we would still be in the 'dark ages'. To out exploriers I say, "Go for it guys!!"

H. Robert Williams (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:42 AM)

A half a Billion U.S. dollars.... I hope we get more for our money. Like maybe an actual land base station. Who comes up with the astronomical figures. To many people making alot of money and giving very little in return. Or atleast the public is getting very little in return.

KGary (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:44 AM)

From the beginning discovery and exploration has always been instinctive to mankind. I believe space exploration is essential to all human life. Though immediate benefits can be limited, in the long run they are endless. For those of you who are so wrapped up in the horrible things going on here, on this planet, try to open your minds and enjoy the positive things that we as intelligent beings are discovering.

Michael Schutt, Birmingham, AL (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:44 AM)

Mercury is a nice planet, and NASA are really good puppets or liars. lets forgett about mercury and look at the earth first. There are so many things on earth not discoverd or maybe they have but Nasa or the goverment has not told us. "We the people" are not stupid. so stop wasteing our tax money for crap we dont need,and start being honest to your fellow human beings. ps, stop airbrushing the satellite photos, its very obvious Jack!

Ram lacrosse, WI. (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:01 AM)

Do you know why it took us 34 years to photograph about 55 percent of Mercury?

Murcury is just a giant super heated moon. THERES NOT MUCH TO LOOK AT!

It's just not interesting. A few photo's, maybe from high resolution telescope would have been fine.

Sometimes you just have to stop and say, "What the hell?" Why don't you heat some metal and dirt to 430°C in a vacuum. BAM, Mercury!

RE:

[...] If you would take the time to open the Bible it would be the very first line, of the first paragraph in the first chapter. The Bible starts out in Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and earth". The last time I checked, Mercury was still a heavenly planet body.
Jeff - Bristol, TN (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 9:39 PM)

So when we all die we are going to Mercury? Yay, giant ball flaming death! Wouldn't that be considered hell?

RMC, Philadelphia, PA (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:01 AM)

Do you think the devil created all those interesting places for us to be tempted by. After all, isn't knowledge evil?

Den, Richmond VA (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:07 AM)

"Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn't there. Theologians can persuade themselves of anything."
-Robert A. Heinlein

Congrats on the first flyby, looking forward to seeing the rest soon.

For those of you whining about the money we spend in space, lets get real. Yes, there are problems on Earth which demand our attention, however it would be utter folly to bring all forward progress towards expanding our horizons to a grinding halt because of it. Not every problem can be solved by stealing money from Peter and handing it out to Paul.

There's more than dollar signs involved in the solutions to worldly problems, effective management and execution of plans already in place would go a lot farther. So why not stop whining and become part of those solutions, instead of crying about what someone else is up to? Or are you charitable types so mercenary at heart that you won't act unless there's a cash payout involved.

James "Doodler" Buchanan, Laurel, MD (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:08 AM)

Seems like everyone out here is complaining about the amount of money that NASA is spending. But everyone keeps forgetting that space exploration has given way to some of the best inventions in the history of mankind. Without researching space exploration, we wouldn't have fire resistant materials, microwave ovens, high-powered jet engines, high-powered computers, plastics, etc. Remember - we can't explore space without research. And only through research comes invention.

Corey, Green Bay, WI (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:10 AM)

what is the point of studying another planet when we are never going to be able to explore it. it is a waste of time and money.

john doe, seattle, wash (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:22 AM)

There are a lot of ways to spend the taxpayer's money. Sometimes we spend 400+ MILLION exploring the solar system and adding to our knowledge, sometimes we WASTE BILLIONS on a war against imaginery WMD's. 400 million vs. BILLIONS. Increasing our knowledge vs. 3700+ Americans killed and tens of thousands wounded...I think the space exploration is a better return on investment.

DS Moon, Pittsburgh, PA (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:25 AM)

It saddens me that our nation is populated by so many ignorant rubes that oppose the advancement of scientific knowledge. We must expand our understanding of the universe and our place in it if we are ever to rise above constant religious and territorial squabbles that threaten to destroy us.

Eric, Hays, Kansas (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:33 AM)

I hope that a movie will not become reality sending humans into space and will never return to earth.

Reyes Torres (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:35 AM)

$427 million dollars to take pictures of a dead planet that looks like our moon. What a waste of money, that should be given back to everyone in a tax break!!! Just think what we could do with all that extra money!!! Lets think about this for a minute. The US population is about 300 million, with about 189 million being between 18 and 65. If we gave that money back to the 18 to 65 group, you would get a whopping amount of (drum roll please) $2 and 59 cents each. Not even a tank of gas.

Maybe we should just sit here on our little planet earth, with the population going up until the planet can no longer support life. We no longer need to explorer. Why even bother going into space?

I'm sure this would have sat well with explorers in the past. If some of them hadn't explorered and discovered places like the America's, you people who want to save all this money wouldn't even have a place to live. Explorers like Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de Leon, Hernando De Soto and Hernando Cortes, just to name a few.

Maybe Mercury isn't the most exciting planet to visit for you and me, but I'm not a scientist, are you? It's all part of exploration and we need to explorer or the human race will wither and die.

Dale C, Clearwater FL (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:41 AM)

Carol and people who question spending money on space exploration etc., perhaps you'd have a different perspective if you realized that many scientific advances are directly attributable to the work done either in space, or the technology that is the product of space exploration. For example, many medical advances are directly attributable to the technology developed from space exploration. Also, many people find this interesting, and necessary to advance scientific research.

Pat Putignano, Huntington, NY (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:45 AM)

The comments section on this article presents a pretty illuminating cross section of the population. The number of people who lack any sense of wonder, are void of curiosity, or so cloaked in in a dogma that forbids God from creating elegant, self sustaining, self correcting systems in favor of the big 'Poof! There it is!' theory of everything, is a rather discouraging trend.

If one is, however, convinced that we are the only living things in this entire universe, then it would likely be a natural tendency to view that enormous expanse spreading throughout the cosmos as being quite pointless. For if we are alone, it serves no purpose.

Ray Setzer (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:48 AM)

Space exploration missions are the ultimate expressions of American freedom and prowess. It is a great shame that some Americans lack the vision to recognize this.

SD, Worcester, MA (Sent Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:51 AM)

<< Previous

Next >>

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.):

Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private) Remember me?

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=582862

More Cosmic Log

Recent Posts:

Archives:

Categories:

Latest Tech & Science News

Syndicate This Site

Add Cosmic Log to your news reader:

ABOUT COSMIC LOG