Mercury's hidden side revealed

J. Taylor — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:06:06 GMT

"Looks like $427 million photos of the Earth's moon to me."

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Renne Smith — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:11:08 GMT

need more pictured details on this story

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Chris Eldridge, Harrisburg PA — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:15:16 GMT

The number one scientific goal should be to be able to completely read the history of the solar system. To do that would take many more missions and Mercury isn't even the most interesting place. Europa and the two other Jovian moons that have oceans of liquid water beneith frozen surfaces are FAR more interesting as where there is water, there is at least a chance for life. Exploration and learning honors the eons it took to become conscious!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Alan Boyle — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:49:53 GMT

Hi, Renne: If you follow the links to APL and NASA, you'll get a bit more detail. But specifically on Caloris and Vivaldi ... you can check this Wikipedia entry on Caloris:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloris_Basin

The entry includes a Mariner 10 image in which you can see the eastern parts of Caloris. Scientists think a giant asteroid or comet hit Mercury, creating the impact basin ... and they think it's relatively young because the area inside the basin is less cratered than the outside. As I mentioned, the new picture shows bright material that may have been churned up by the impact. Some people think Mercury's thin atmosphere of hydrogen and helium may emanate at least in part from fissures in Caloris. Caloris also happens to be the spot on Mercury closest to the sun when the planet is closest to the sun in its orbit. Hence the name, Caloris, meaning "heat."

http://www.solarviews.com/cap/merc/caloris.htm

Vivaldi is one of several double-ring craters in the Beethoven Quadrangle on Mercury. The reason behind double-ringers has to do with how material "sloshes" on a planet after a giant impact. You can learn more about the region from this Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beethoven_quadrangle

Generally speaking, Emily Lakdawalla at the Planetary Society has been really good about explaining the details seen in spacecraft pictures, and I think you'll get a lot of what you're looking for by checking her most excellent blog:

http://www.planetary.org/blog

Over at Bad Astronomy, Phil Plait also weighs in about the imagery:

http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/01/15/
messenger-at-mercury-hawesome/

Hope this is enough to get you started. ;-)

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Eric, Snohomish, WA — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:54:07 GMT

Mercury is probably the least probable place for liquid water to be present in our atmosphere, however for the sake of science it should still be studied. I do question NASA's choice in Mercury when more interesting planets and moons are available for study. I would be more interested in Mars or Venus exploration than Mercury.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Milt Walker — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:54:44 GMT

We already know the history of the solar system. Look it up, it's all explained in Genesis. This $427 million could have been put to much better use in faith-based initiatives instead, or, Heaven forbid, it could have been returned to the taxpayers.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

john doe seattle wash — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:57:23 GMT

so we spent how much to go take a few crappy pictures of a dead rock? Yet social security is gonna fail in what, three more years. Money well spent gents, maybe we can send a probe to the sun and take pics of it next!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Mark Brown, Portland, OR — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:59:11 GMT

Fantastic! Mercury contains important scientific evidence of early planet formation, and this mission promises to uncover at least some of that data.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Kalvin Kobra, Tempe AZ — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:01:52 GMT

What a waste. Looks like the moon to me. We haven't landed on Venus in forever. We should go there again. I've heard the surface temp and pressure are too much for any space vehicle to withstand, but I'm sure our brilliant scientists at NASA could figure it out.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

steve smyth — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:13:19 GMT

why do all the craters appear to be oval?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

carol — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:35:52 GMT

PLEASE FORGIVE ME I KNOW YOU PROBABLY WON'T POST THIS BUT I WANT TO SAY IT ANYWAY. WHILE I'M QUITE SURE WE ALL THINK SPACE IS INTERESTING WHY CAN'T WE TAKE THOSE MILLIONS AND BILLONS OF DOLLARS AND GIVE PEOPLE PROPER HEALTHCARE AND DO ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE NEEDED HERE IN AMERICA? THIS IS INSANE TO LOOK AT PICTURES OF OTHER PLANETS WHILE WE ARE LIVING HERE AND AS FAR AS WE KNOW IT IS THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS LIFE. WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THIS? I KNOW WHY OF COURSE TOO MANY HIGH PAYING JOBS AT NASA. I AM SORRY BUT WE AS PEOPLE HERE IN AMERICA DO NOT SEEM TO CHANGE ANYTHING THAT MATTERS. WE SEND BILLIONS IN THE SKY WHILE PEOPLE DIE WITHOUT PROPER MEDICAL CARE THANKS,CAROL

Mercury's hidden side revealed

fissilemissile — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:43:24 GMT

Picard: "What is it?"
Data: "There's nothing out there; absolutely nothing" -- Data
Geordi: "Well it's a damn ugly nothing!"

Mercury's hidden side revealed

christopher buono shandaken, new york — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:51:36 GMT

Why does this country spend so much money exploring a rock floating around the sun, when we can't seem to find the money to heal injured war vets returning from Iraq?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

james, Bellevue, WA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:02:20 GMT

Thanks for this post Alan. It was much more interesting than the article above. Please keep the articles coming though!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Dick Carey, Tyler, TX — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:28:55 GMT

We seem to be the only nation who cares about our heavenly system of planets as I don't see any other nation's launch of outer planets exploration. They seem more bent on nuclear status than anything else.

We have always had a very forward looking nation!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

David Burnside — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:30:51 GMT

We spent 55 BILLION on USA based drug enforcement alone (according to NPR today) with no results. The 410 million allows engineers to invent and more importantly all of us to dream things bigger than ourselves.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

John de Denghy, Miami FL — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:44:22 GMT

Many of you are complaining about the funds NASA has been allocating to space exploration. While I think there are many problems that should be addressed here (healthcare, education, the war vets), one should also keep in mind that space exploration could one day lead mankind to fulfill a much higher calling in life. Although photographing Mercury might seem like a small step (and it is), if you step back and analyze the bigger picture, space exploration could one day bring about immense benefits to mankind. We may one day discover elements on other planets that are not found here on earth which could be the source of new efficient energies, or which could allow our civilization to take giant leaps of progress in technology. Our economy and lives on earth clearly merit attention, but so does the endless vastness of space in which so many undiscovered opportunities still tantalize our imaginations.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Gary,Phoenix,Arizona — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:48:02 GMT

For those nay sayers, I say "nuts". Space exploration and learning about your universe has unexpected dividends with far reaching consequences. Instead of complaining how the money is spent, this money was earmarked over 10 years ago. I for one keep an open mind, look to the heavens and dream. As my ancestors did when they decided to explore the "wild west". Without something to strive for we stagnate.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Steve M — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:49:23 GMT

So we should not explore the planets and space? How many benefits came about as a direct result of our quest to land a man on the moon? While solving the problems necessary to explore space, many unforeseen discoveries that benefit mankind always surface. If not for the race to the moon, none of you would even be able to log onto the internet and post your opinions - the technology that was developed for the trip to the moon resulted in many of the computer and technological advances we all take for granted today. Spend the money on space science - it pays for itself over time and we all benefit!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Eugene Hulbert — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:50:14 GMT

[...] Milty, I missed the verse in Genesis about the origin of Mercury, perhaps you could direct me

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Gene Dozier Salem, Or — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:54:06 GMT

Actually, I think the planet and its craters is secondary to the mission itself. People, think of it as
an exercise in remote control, or the proving of guidance systems, or a verification time and space
itself. Been there done that!!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Mike, Boston, MA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:54:17 GMT

Wow. It is painful to read the naive and misguided posts about this article. NASA's annual budget is a minuscule pittance (that means small, for all the monosyllabic readers out there) compared to the uncountable billions spent on other government projects of doubtful relevance. Exploration is one of the most natural inclinations of man, and space exploration has had an immeasurably positive impact on modern society (nowadays, for instance, virtually all of our communications are dependent upon space-based systems). I am grateful that NASA's scientific research continues in spite of such widespread obliviousness.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Appalled in Oregon, Milton-freewater, OR — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:58:10 GMT

I also feel that if we can spend so much on space exploration, we can take care of our vets and everyone should have the medical care that they need AND education... America's priorities are pretty messed up. I think space exploration is very interesting, but let's take care of our people and THEN go explore!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Kevin, SF CA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:02:05 GMT

The gov't should have released a few pictures of the moon and passed it off as Mercury, then spend the money on bringing our troops home and educating our kids.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Ron Shaneyfelt, Virginia Beach, VA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:12:09 GMT

Here we go again it can easily be said. Why do we WASTE MONEY in space when we have so many problems on Earth? I remember Charles Krauthammer gave those who whine about the expense of space exploration a great response in his article published in the Washington Post on March 2, 2007. Here is what he stated: People have long opposed manned exploration as a waste of resources when, as the mantra goes, we have so many problems here on Earth.

I find this objection incomprehensible. When will we stop having problems here on Earth? In a fallen world of endless troubles, that does not stop us from allocating resources to endeavors we find beautiful, exciting and elevating -- opera, alpine skiing, feature films -- yet solve no social problems.

I would further say that using the money designated for NASA's yearly budget ($16.8 billion in 2007) will barely make a dent in the problems the previous writers stated they want solved by stopping such (in THEIR words) wasteful spending. I even suggest that our politicians stop wasting so much money in order that NASA can do even more space exploration than we can ever dream about as a possibility. At this point, how can we say that the money they have spent on earthly problems has actually made much difference in bettering our lives? GO SPACE!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Steve, Ware, Ma. — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:13:46 GMT

That old whine about feeding the poor , etc. instead of
doing actual Space exploration is just so old;
Please.... Stop them from breeding, and there won't be a problem ...
As to the exploration of Mercury , it's an awesome accomplishment ; the scientific rewards will be rolling in for Decades ... Way to Go , NASA! ( High 5 !! )

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Barry M Newport News, VA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:16:41 GMT

Take care of the Earth First. Those other lifeless rocks in our universe aren't going anywhere anytime soon... How about we use some of those NASA smarts to develop vehicles to move us around so we don't have to go to war over fossil fuels that will eventually run out or cause global war fighting for it. Feed the Hungry Here first. Bring our troops home before they are all slaughtered one at a time by people that think we are the devil anyway. Take care of our people First. Then we can worry if some rock on a distant planet is made of iron. Priorities People.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Michael Gravel — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:20:02 GMT

Mercury as called by us Humans,is only another 'shield' strategically placed around the Earth [as other 'planets' revolving in the same cluster] to absorb nucleus size negative protocells which left alone, would destabilised earth's polarity causing a shift in its position. The results of such event would be catastrophic and cause civilisation as we know it, to cease.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Steven, Seattle, WA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:20:30 GMT

Obviously a waste of time and money. We should stop all this nonsense and go back to herding sheep and tending our crops.

Oh wait,

Man does not live by bread only. There must be something more.

Oh, and if you think that if we didn’t fund things like this the money would go to healthcare and social services, you have not been listening to Bill O’Reilly

Mercury's hidden side revealed

mark — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:24:11 GMT

I am so so so tired of people saying we need to spend ever increasing amounts on the poor who do not work enough to sustain themselves at the expense of the space program. The space program provides jobs from highly technical to janitorial staff. Something America needs. The poor will always be with us from the beginning of time till the end. I do not want my tax money spent on non work types who do not contribute to society.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Erik Witz, Rolesville, NC. — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:28:27 GMT

Mercury is one of the four terrestrial planets and is 70% metallic. Mercury will probably be a great place for future mineral resources as the gravity is so low, it's easy to get them off the planet's surface.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Jon — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:41:39 GMT

We aren't going to find anything in space that will cause us to stop being selfish, hateful, and laughably arrogant.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Steve McKenna, Bellmore,NY — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:42:41 GMT

I could never figure out why Ferdinand and Isabella funded Columbus' journey to the edge of the Earth.

Surely the fact that millions were dying in the known world because of lack of sanitation and food was a better way to spend money.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Sean, Phoenix, AZ — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:45:56 GMT

Thanks Alan. Those were great links.

Good to know that NASA is successfully completing missions. Now all those kids that we are feeding and sending through school will have something to work on when the graduate.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Theron, Reno, NV — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:47:10 GMT

What a bargan! For 10% less then the price of one stealth bomber we can study a planet. If there was no spirit of exploration, this country wouldn't even exist as we know it! Much of the technology we take for granted today, was developed originally for use in the exploration of space. Please compare the budget of NASA to the profits of the health care industry, the defense contractors, big oil, etc. etc. Notice I said profits. Exploration and learning are fundamental to what it is to be a human (as well as most of earth's creatures). Money well spent even if it takes 10 years to realize the benefits.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Deb, Michigan City, Ind. — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:47:40 GMT

Hear, hear!! to Steve of Ware. "Stop them from breeding..." Stop all of us from breeding for a while and heal the Earth. As for space - let's go! All knowledge is good.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Dave, currently stationed in South Korea — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:50:14 GMT

I absolutely love astronomy and the study of everything outside of our own little bubble. For those inquiring about spending the money for religious endevours, you should look at these photographs and admire the completexity and beauty of what God has done. For those concerned about using that money for healthcare and similar concerns; the money used for this comes from a different pot of money. Anyone that has had any dealings with the government would understand that. 95% of the responses on here are negative which shows how sad of a state "we" are in. Striving to make things better is a good thing, but constant criticism and complaining about it does nothing productive.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Geoff, Dayton, OH — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:52:23 GMT

It's interesting to notice those who preferred recess over science class.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

vern — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:53:55 GMT

I am very much in support of our space program.
I believe that humankind's need to explore and our thirst for knowledge is what distinguishes us as the most successful and (sometimes sadly), impactful species on our planet Earth since life emerged about 1 billion years ago.
People are blessed with cognizance and adaptive creativity, so there will always be conflict and turmoil of some sort.
We are still animals however. Just like a baby sea turtle lumbering over the sand on its way to the ocean, we are imbedded with a sense of purpose. We are driven to explore. That's what we do. That's what we are.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

John Mc — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:54:55 GMT

It could be worse, they could have sent people out there for 100X the cost, just like they want to send people to Mars. I say compromise and keep sending robotic vehicles. It's a lot cheaper.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Summer, Seattle, WA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:56:30 GMT

I understand why people get frustrated when they see the dollar amounts associated with space discoveries and the like, but "pure science" (science done simply for science's sake, not for some application) is absolutely essential. So many significant leaps in our technological know-how come only from that "pure science", i.e. - x-rays, DNA, and many more that we take for granted every day. As J. J. Thomson said: "Applied science makes improvements; pure science makes revolutions." So, instead of focusing our ire on NASA, realize that the portion of the U.S. fiscal budget that is allocated towards science, most of which goes to applied science, is only about 1%. That includes ALL the funding for science: the money that goes to NASA, NSF, educational institutions, etc. For something that creates things that are so integral to our way of life, that's a very small number. Compare that to Social Security and defense, where almost half the federal budget goes (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/browse.html). So, realize that discoveries like this may not make sense to you now, but could potentially change your way of life in the future.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

John, Charlotte, N.C. — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:59:50 GMT

Cool! Mercury does look a lot like the Earth's Moon. Both are terrestrial (rock) worlds from the inner solar system, and both are relatively small, so they cooled off quickly. That means major geological features, like big volcanoes and plate tectonics didn't have a chance to form. Though not as interesting as Mars or Venus, Mercury can tell us intersting things about the way the solar system formed.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

steve, Ware , Ma. — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:12:34 GMT

I have stopped breeding ... After six kids , that's plenty ... They all eat well, have a job, and fill a positive role in society ...

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Rodney Sibert Jr., Trussville, AL — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:13:33 GMT

OK, let me be the bad guy here...

First off, it is extremely inportant for us to do the studies that we're doing. We learn something, a lot of something, each time we send a probe to Mars, a rocket to blow up a asteroid, or even an orbiter to return readings from faraway moons and or planets.

Second, it doesn't matter how much is spent on heath care, there will always be people that refuse to help themselves. You complain about our country not caring, look at how much money and support is sent to other countries for that very reason.

How about this:
Let's say the government decided to let you choose...
You can receive a refund for every penny that you have contributed through your taxes to the space program and will never be cut for it again.
In return you give up everything in relation to the space program. You give up any use to future inventions and information.
Would you do it? You can't have it both ways... You decide... Think about it... Do you have any idea of what percentage of your taxes goes to the space program (very little)? Do you have any idea of how much we have learned and developed through the space program (a lot of what you see and use today).

Look up, you might see something you like...

The Rookie Astronomer,
Rodney...
:-)

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Bubba, the Magnificent, State of Rapture — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:22:30 GMT

Actually, some ancient manuscripts were found in the Empty Quarter just last week which, when translated, revealed that on the 7th night of the 7th day, God had a fever and sore throat because of hell raising. Whereupon, the celestial angels sore sought God's succor and comfort by attempting to register the Creator's ethereal temperature and pulse. Unfortunately, the Creator had just caught sight of a really hot Venus from the corner of his eye causing him to bite most firmly on the angels' caloric register probe. Fused silicon (Genesis form of glass) flew about the sun and a few particles of silvery material coalesced to form what we now know as Mercury. This is the absolute truth as derived from the King Jimmy's version of the Bible, honest. Now let's get on with space exploration after we neuter/spay all those who want space funding diverted for their green fly reproductive mentality.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Vlad, Brooklyn, NY — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:28:42 GMT

With all due respect, those of you who are complaining about government funding for space exploration do not have the slightest clue about humanity's history in the realm of scientific discovery. It is only through scientific endeavors for the pure sake of knowledge that we have the knowledge, discoveries and inventions of today. Look at virtually any scientific invention or discovery and trace its historical origins - you will see that they did NOT come about because scientists were actively searching for it. Quite the opposite is true; scientists try to solve a problem, and an answer to ANOTHER problem emerges. It has always been this way. Space exploration and what an ignorant person deems "useless science" is the fuel of our species. Discovery has been a part of us since we were not even yet human. You cannot separate us from our curious origins.

And Milt Walker, I also missed the part in Genesis, or the entire Bible for that matter, about the origins of Mercury, or conclusive evidence from the Bible about the origins of the solar system. In a matter of science, please do not bring religion into it, unless you have empirical evidence to verify your claims. If you do, I am open to hear it.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Jeff - Bristol, TN — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:39:16 GMT

[...] Milty, I missed the verse in Genesis about the origin of Mercury, perhaps you could direct me.
FROM: Eugene Hulbert (Sent Wednesday, January 16, 2008 7:50 PM)

--------------

[...] 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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Lou, Chicago, IL — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:40:40 GMT

What has space exploration contributed to the US? Let's see - countless advances in materials science, software engineering, biology, health sciences:
- push into satellites brought space military superiority and the eventual fall of communism;
- GPS;
- advanced telecommunications and modern cell phone technology (cell phones anyone?);
- satellite TV;
- SETI's distributed computing ideas are now used by distributed computing research software projects:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_distributed_computing_projects;

Oh, I don't know. Sounds like it's worth it.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Mike, Manitowoc, WI — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:01:46 GMT

"Now let's get on with space exploration after we neuter/spay all those who want space funding diverted for their green fly reproductive mentality".
Bubba, the Magnificent, State of Rapture

Bubba please quit picking on the green flies. They have no superstitious deities.

As far a medical care; we would still be using ancient techniques if the advancements in electronics and composites, gleaned from aerospace research, would not have come about.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Mark, Hamden, CT — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:02:02 GMT

I believe exploration of the solar system and beyond is of great importance to mankind. Why wouldn't one want to learn of the origin of the planets and what our place in the universe actually is. Man's knowledge should extend far beyond the dimensions of the Earth.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

P. Burns — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:03:10 GMT

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!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Mark, New Martinsville, WV — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:03:54 GMT

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?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

John, Boston, MA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:04:59 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Bob, Sinking Spring, PA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:06:13 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Larry K, Wisconsin — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:09:22 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Shad, San Diego — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:15:42 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Full Gandoo, Vancouver, Canada — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:31:35 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Stephen Koehler, St. Louis, MO, USA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:41:06 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Larry, Durant, OK — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:59:54 GMT

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!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Bloggerrich, Fort Lauderdale, FL — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:19:14 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

clark — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:57:56 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Dennis Lokken, West Fargo, ND — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 05:00:13 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Vance, Bellevue, WA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 05:04:24 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

K Moore — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 05:23:17 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 05:23:49 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Jerry L. Sweet Pueblo, Colorado — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 05:39:05 GMT

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...

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON, Canada — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:07:23 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Harry Boy, Vancouver — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:40:32 GMT

can someone explain how gravity assist works?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

JC, Fairbanks, AK — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:45:22 GMT

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".....

Mercury's hidden side revealed

JC, Fairbanks, AK — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:56:00 GMT

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

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Red Miller, East St. Louis, IL — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:35:24 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Robert Las Vegas — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:36:21 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

SJA, Minnesota — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:37:29 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Jon, Winnipeg, Canada — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:04:03 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Isamu Dyson — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:24:36 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Harry, Eagan, MN — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:39:23 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

self reliant in tampa — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:48:40 GMT

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

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Joe DUcharme — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:11:09 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Tony - Knoxville, TN — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:20:04 GMT

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...

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Elena, Varese, Italy — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:23:01 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Grumpy Old Sod, Victoria, BC — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:23:22 GMT

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!)

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Chris Leary — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:46:06 GMT

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!!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Glen, Albany, NY — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:06:23 GMT

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!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Jason — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:19:00 GMT

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!

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H. Robert Williams — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:42:08 GMT

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!!"

Mercury's hidden side revealed

KGary — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:44:03 GMT

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.

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Michael Schutt, Birmingham, AL — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:44:33 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Ram lacrosse, WI. — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:01:14 GMT

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!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

RMC, Philadelphia, PA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:01:24 GMT

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?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Den, Richmond VA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:07:14 GMT

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

Mercury's hidden side revealed

James "Doodler" Buchanan, Laurel, MD — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:08:10 GMT

"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.

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Corey, Green Bay, WI — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:10:47 GMT

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.

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john doe, seattle, wash — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:22:44 GMT

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.

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DS Moon, Pittsburgh, PA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:25:50 GMT

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.

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Eric, Hays, Kansas — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:33:02 GMT

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.

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Reyes Torres — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:35:27 GMT

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

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Dale C, Clearwater FL — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:41:15 GMT

$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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Pat Putignano, Huntington, NY — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:45:19 GMT

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.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Ray Setzer — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:48:45 GMT

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.

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SD, Worcester, MA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:51:34 GMT

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.

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Patrick — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:54:21 GMT

I find it funny that people complaining about the cost of the space program are using computer and telecomunications technology that sprang from the space program to do so.

Don't like the space program? Fine, have the intellectual integrity to forswear all use of technology that is dependent on satelites. Mobile phones, GPS, the internet. Little things like that. If you aren't willing to give them up, then keep your mouth shut.

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Charles in HoustonNASAistheproblem — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:06:51 GMT

My only problem with NASA is that our Rockets use THE SAME FUEL AND PHYSICS TO LEAVE our planet's gravity. It's STILL a "roman candle". Candles burn and sometimes explode given the right stimulus. It's time for NASA to actually think OUTSIDE of the box. Build it in space and send it flying. Have the courage to MAKE a nuclear engine and send the darned thing. Stop charging an arm and a leg for science when you can get college students to help build it.....it would hhelp with education TEN-FOLD. Involve high school students in designing something physically possible to do everything we've proposed.

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D. H., Ft. Wayne, IN — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:06:53 GMT

Project the negative attitude backwards in time; we would not be in America.
I think it is an absolute must to explore!

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Scott — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:11:20 GMT

To all of you folks who complain about the cost of space exporation (manned or unmanned), I have to say you are looking at this the wrong way. First of all you should view these progams like having a child. While they are expensive, the payoff in the end in pride, knowledge, etc., far outweighs the cost. And second, like having children, if you wait until you can truly afford it you will never have them. Finally, the amount spent each year by NASA is an insignificant drop in the bucket of the federal budget. Last year the total federal budget was north of $1 Trillion, while NASA's portion was less than $17 Billion (Less than 2%). If we can't afford to spend 2% of our budget on exploring and visiting our environs, we have much greater problems than a shortfall in healthcare, or Vet support, or any of the other pet programs here on earth that people always bring up whenever a program cost is mentioned in a space related article.

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Rachel Farer, Newark, DE — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:25:41 GMT

Very impressive, but unfortunately, in a time of war, the government cannot afford any more missions beyond Earth's orbit.

It is time for private industry to take over space exploration. It will take a longer, but it will help get the Federal budget under control and this war won, so that some day, we can responsibly cut taxes.

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eb — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:39:29 GMT

We spend more money on war than we do on space.

How about we stop fighting wars, and use the money for education, health-care, and exploration?

Then we can all explore space, healthy, and in peace.

;-)

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Robert Erickson, Renton, Wa — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:00:43 GMT

I get a kick out of all you Nay-Sayers. But most of you probably support that Mickey Mouse War Mr. Bush has been funding for the last how many years? When the current administration is done at the end of this year, the National Debt will be 10 Trillion Dollars.
and if you don't understand what a Trillion is that is a 10 with 12 more zeros after. And what are we getting for all that money. Zilch, Nada, Zero, Nothing. Qhit whining and go out and do something constructive.

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Steven F. Durst — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:10:44 GMT

It is sad how quickly a scientific acomplishment became a philosophical argument.
I am a christian and believe in creation. Yet I am also an avid fan of science. That is science for the understanding and explanation of "things" that I am curious about. The total obsevation of all things around us.
That curiosity takes in the study of and understanding of all the sciences. From such a curiosity came all the great advancements of medicine and technology. I have no problems with a passion knowledge and a belief in God and his Son Jesus Christ. The search for wisdom and knowledge are played out very well in both the book of Proverbs and the book of Ecclesiasties. Paul said all who seek wisdom simply need to ask and God would liberaly give such to all.
I think it's quite a feat to shoot an object up into the sky have it rondevue with a planet and send back photographs.
I also think that the more we study the planets of our own solsr system the more we should appreciate the unique planet we all live on. It should awaken us to be better partners with this world in which we live.
The pictures are great and knowing the accomplishment it took to get them make them all the more appreciated by me. It is our duty to remain a great scociety by continuing to enlighten ourselves as to the exsistances aroud us to learn all we can and to put what we learn to the improvement of all mankind.

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Darren Pope, Little Rock, AR — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:11:57 GMT

Oh... I don't know about the FACE on Mercury... but it does look like another pock-marked place on a body. The aliens are mooning us?!? Does Bush know about this?! We need to get a nuke in space STAT! We'll teach them moonin' aliens to.. *grumble grumble*

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Lonnie, Lewiston, Idaho — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:12:07 GMT

After reading all of the comments made here I see validity in all of them. We need to remember that many of the things that we have now days comes either directly or indirectly from the Space Program.

Feed the poor an excellant purpose, our farmers are growing more and more everyday because of advances made from space exploration. Improve our Health Care, this is probably one of the largest single beneficiaries of space exploration that we have seen in the last 100 years. The list goes on and on and yet everyone seems to think that complaining in the answer. Well it is, without someone to complain nothing gets accomplished. So keep on complaining so NASA can keep sending out more missions. I personally would prefer to see more manned missions, nothing like first hand on the job experience. There are many more benefits to be reaped in the future. So to all the critics, yes we know we have many humanly problems here on Earth, but we still need to explore, Who knows maybe someday your son or daughter could be the one who finds the means to end hunger once and for all or maybe find the cure for that elusive killer cancer.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Rick, Oregon — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:16:10 GMT

Pssst....

They really are just pictures of the moon..
Well, "moon pictures" taken in a secret NASA studio in Florida.
They probably aren't using the same one as in the sixties, but who knows....
The $427 million probably went to the doctors trying to clone the President. Or another mind control satellite. Better put on your aluminum foil hat...

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Wayne, Alamogordo, NM — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:34:50 GMT

Instilled in every human being is the desire to explore, to learn new things, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Some people suppress this desire. Some ignore it. Others dream of fulfilling it. Space is for the explorers, dreamers, and boring scientific geeks who have to know what's out there. If we are created beings, then this desire was placed inside us and we need to act on it. If we have developed this desire through evolution, then there's obviously a reason for it being there as well and we need to act on it. In my heart, I feel I'm here for a reason. Sure I need to help solve social issues if I can. But I also have a need to expand my horizons to their limits. Space is a mightly large area to explore. And since I can't get there in person, these unmanned missions combined with our ever increasing ability to look at and study our universe and beyond with a variety of sensing equipment will have to do. Doesn't it make sense that if we are created by an entity that is the sum of all knowledge that we need to strive to understand that knowledge? Science and religion (I use the term loosely) will always be at odds, but science (and the pursuit thereof) and the yearning to understand how we got here will always go hand in hand.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

John, Raleigh, NC — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:17:16 GMT

Good job, NASA!!! This is definetely worth the time and effort you guys put into it.

To Vlad:
Open the Bible and go to Genesis 1:1. It explains to you how not only Mercury was formed, but also the whole Universe. "In the beginning God created the heaven and earth." Last time I checked, Mercury was a heavenly planet.

To all of those people that think we are wasting money on this:
This is the benefit for all mankind.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Concerned Space Traveler — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:41:12 GMT

I dislike people that whine about wasting money on space exploration. Blame U.S. financial problems on Government official waste, not space exploration.

Saying we need to stop the NASA program to feed our poor, tired and hungry is as ignorant as saying we should trim education funding by firing teachers and buying less books.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Philip Psomadakis, Arlington, Texas — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:46:29 GMT

I'm 84 years old and closer to the end than I like to admit. I do not feel sorry for the so called poor. When I was a kid we had the same so called poor all around us. Like today, they were mostly derelicts and the uneducated looking for a handout from government and/or people.(Alas, I sometimes do repeat myself) Anyhow, I say keep up the massive spending on space technology. An after thought, maybe someday Genetics will find a way to limit the amount of babies a woman can have, thusly, some control over population growth or decline and at the same getting rid of the substandered peoples. We do a hell of job in breeding other animals.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Bill M — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:58:36 GMT

First, from the time of the launch of Americas first space probe (research) to now, we can say a good portion of our 12 trillion dollar economy was derived from space and scientific research. You can say for every dollar spent, we will be rewarded ten thousand fold in future technologies that will help drive our economy.

Second, we don’t know what might happen to earth or humanity in the future. It may be that everything we have done so far will not be enough to save our children’s children or they will have the right tools passed down to them to save themselves because we did do just enough.

A good example of that is global warming, warming of the seas and global loss of forests. We wouldn’t even know about it until it is too late without satellites, software, space hardened electronics and guidance systems. Because of the investments we have made so far, we are able to care for our planet better than any other generation of humans that has ever lived on earth before us.

To put it into a religious context, God made us caretakers of all living creatures great and small. Without learning and exploration we would not be able to meet Gods expectations.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Doug, Pasadena — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:06:26 GMT

It is so naive the way some people seem to think that if we eliminated the space program they could walk up to a cashier's window and get money for social programs just like that. Congress don't work like that, folks. They would take the extra money (and in budgetary terms, it's not very much) and put more troops in Iraq, buy more aircraft, increase congressional salaries and the like. Wake up and smell the pork.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Chris Reeve, San Francisco, CA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:15:04 GMT

RE:

"Mercury is probably the least probable place for liquid water to be present in our atmosphere, however for the sake of science it should still be studied."

You are 100% right that it should be investigated, but certainly not at the expense of alternative explanations! There is yet another explanation for the strong radar echo that is the root cause for the suggestion of water on Mercury offered by Wallace Thornhill:

"Water ice is a highly unlikely answer to the puzzle. Once again, there is an electrical possibility. Mercury is likely to have a weak dipolar magnetic field. Mercury, like all planets is connected to the solar circuit. That connection follows the magnetic field down to the poles. Any remnant magnetism of the electrical craters at the pole will tend to focus the plasma discharges upon those craters. In the near vacuum at Mercury’s surface, electrons will strike the surface and form more dense plasma. If sufficiently dense, the plasma layer acts like a metallic surface coating and returns a strong radar echo. I have addressed this issue in the “The Shiny Mountains Of Venus.” If this view is correct the strong radar returns may change abruptly or flicker as the auroral-type discharge moves about."

It should come as no surprise that plasmas can reflect radio signals because we can make radio antennas from plasmas nowadays.

Wallace Thornhill's complete commentary on Mercury can be viewed here, and it is highly recommended reading for anybody who wants a rebuttal to the Bad Astronomy materials:

http://www.holoscience.com/news.php?article=e511t4z2

His "Shiny Mountains of Venus" article, which was referenced above, can be seen here:

http://www.holoscience.com/news.php?article=jej1t3c2

What's quite interesting is that a couple of people here have related their impressions that Mercury looks just like our Moon. You know, sometimes in life, we learn so much in our professions that we become "cursed with knowledge", and it takes people who have not been similarly cursed to point out what is in fact somewhat obvious. And in this particular instance, astrophysicists have worked themselves into a corner with the conventional theories -- which don't even offer us a complete story with regards to Mercury's allegedly huge core. Thornhill offers similar sentiments on the similarities between the Moon and Mercury:

"There is no single “origin” of the solar system. It is a complex genealogy with new actors appearing and many chapters of chaos, which makes a retrospective evolutionary story impossible. However, due to gyroscopic action, axial and orbital tilts may indicate possible related solar family members. For example Saturn, Mars and Earth have similar axial tilts. It is very interesting to note that Mercury and the Moon have practically the same negligible tilt of their equators to the ecliptic. In addition, Mercury has a large orbital tilt, referred to the ecliptic, of 7 degrees and the Moon 5 degrees. Mercury and the Moon may be related. Their appearance certainly suggests so. The Sun captured Mercury while the Earth captured the Moon. Capture of a satellite is a quick and easy process electrically. Gravitationally it is very unlikely. Mercury’s marked orbital tilt and eccentric orbit suggest a recent arrival there."

RE:

"Vivaldi is one of several double-ring craters in the Beethoven Quadrangle on Mercury. The reason behind double-ringers has to do with how material "sloshes" on a planet after a giant impact. You can learn more about the region from this Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beethoven_quadrangle"

I went to that wikipedia article and discovered that it makes plenty of references to Mercury's "ejecta blanket". This seems presumptuous to me. People need to be a bit wary of *assuming* that these rayed craters on Mercury represent ejecta from impacts. We see a strikingly similar pattern on the Moon with the crater Tycho, and we know that *those* rays are not ejecta. Rather, the rays of Tycho have NO DISCERNIBLE DEPTH. Astrophysicists do not concern themselves with this inconvenient fact much because it doesn't make much sense to them, but if facts could talk, this one would be screaming at us electrical burn scar. And when you dig into the issue deeper, you come to realize that the conventional view that all craters are formed by impacts is only arrived at by ignoring the electrical possibilities. Many of the features that we observe in craters can be created with electrical discharges within the laboratory with plasma guns -- including the central spire and the terraced edges (the latter being exceptionally difficult to reproduce with impacts). The terracing of crater edges is a *natural* result of electrical crater formation because of the twisting nature of Birkeland Currents (as can be observed when closely looking at the filaments of a novelty plasma globe). For more information, go to http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2006/arch06/060907lunarcraters.htm.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Chris, Austin, TX — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:22:14 GMT

The same people that complain about how we should spend the money solving endless problems in the world are the same people that stop every morning to pick up a $4 coffee.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Zane Whitson, Naylor, MO — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:39:19 GMT

It's easy to get worked up, but decorum should be maintained. We're all entitled to our views.

But for those of us who would see Man rise above his humble origins, take heart and know that the opinions of those who oppose us are as irrelevant as those of old-world Europe in 1492.

Man is driven to discover and explore. It is as natural to us as breath and love and war. The railing of those who would hold us back is nothing more than the "sound and fury" which signifies nothing.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Stromm Sarnac, Ohio — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:39:44 GMT

$427mil is a drop in the bucket compared to what the US gives away with never the hope of return. Think of how much money is going to the current political campaigns, into the pockets of ALL of our government politicians, wasted on taking care of illegals, etc. The US gives too much away, might as well use it for something a good deal of US really do care about.

We've been so good to everyone but ourselves that anytime we try to step back and make them stand on their own feet, they get ticked off at us and decide that all their problems are because of us. Then they threaten us with violence unless we bow down and give them what even most of our own people aren't given. Sadly, we've made our bed and any way we go about it, we're going to look bad. But we can't just back away and worry about home first cause then we'll "get jumped in a dark alley".

[...]WE SEND BILLIONS IN THE SKY WHILE PEOPLE DIE WITHOUT PROPER MEDICAL CARE THANKS,CAROL.

Hmm, we don't send billions to the sky but we do send billions to countries who never pay it back and never fix the problems we send money over to fix.

Proper Medical care? What's proper, Canada's? I have Canadian friends who have had to wait MONTHS for a CT/MRI, Weeks for approval for antibiotics/pain killers, xrays, even doctor's appointments. One friend had a broken leg, went to the hospital was told it's classified as a non-emergency RELATIVE to other patients and to schedule an appointment with his family doctor. That took a week!!! by which time the family doctor had to schedule a "re-break" at the hospital he was just at and that took two more weeks, then they ended up having to do surgery to correct the NOW emergency splinters and he was in the hospital for 5 days. I can keep telling you stories of "how good" they have it. Their system is "everyone gets the same free BAD care even though it's crappy and you'll likely just give up before you get treatment".

Our system is great care, it just has to be paid for somehow... IF YOU ARE A CITIZEN of the US. If you're not legal, guess what... IT'S FREE!! US citizen's screwed again. Insurance shouldn't cost more than about $400/mth for a family of four. Anything not covered can be paid via payments. Maybe if people thought about what they do with their money, they'd be able to pay for their own health care. I have no sympathy for low-income people who "can't afford" medical care when they have DVD players, Xbox/PS3/Wii, LCD/Plasma TVs, $500/mth car loans, wear shoes/pants/belts/shirts which individually cost more than my whole outfit, buy cigarettes and alcohol (ACTIVELY contributing to their health problems)...

I work my butt off for what I have and it ticks me off that so many people in the US feel it's their constitutional right to be GIVEN stuff they haven't earned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[...] 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.

Which version of the Bible are you quoting? I'd just like to know since, well, you DO know that there are over 200 versions of the christian bible all with significant variances. You DO know that these versions of the bible plagarize Mesopotamian and Summerian (and other middle-eastern) religious concepts which date back as far as 10,000 years PRIOR to when the bible was written. You DO know that the same tech used to validate the age of christian writings was also used to validate those older writings (I put that in here just so you don't call into question that the techniques were inaccurate). You DO know that a panel of religious leaders compiled the bible from a pool of over 300 scripts and chose the ones THEY WANTED. You DO know that the bible wasn't written by God, it was written by MAN... oh yea, "In the name of God". Funny that the different books "morals" coincide nicely with whatever social turmoils where occuring at the time of their writings. Lastly, you DO know that the majority of the books of the bible were not written at the time the events took place nor by the people involved in the stories therein.

Just wanted to make sure you truly know about the book you're so quick to site as impirical fact. Problem with that book is that it's not what you think it is. It's a great look into history, but christian relgions (as all religions do with their texts) have used it to placate and control the masses.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

DaveP, Eagan, MN — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:48:17 GMT

For those of you who are complaining about NASA wasting money when we have problems here at home -
Why did you waste the money to buy a computer when you could have donated it to a food shelf?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:18:00 GMT

Chris Reeve: "Their appearance certainly suggests so. The Sun captured Mercury while the Earth captured the Moon. Capture of a satellite is a quick and easy process electrically. Gravitationally it is very unlikely. Mercury’s marked orbital tilt and eccentric orbit suggest a recent arrival there."

Again you don't qualify such a bold statement. REAL references please??

The moon and mercury are made of different materials. The moon was NOT captured. It formed around earth as a result of an early collision with earth. The moon rocks returned show this. You don't even bother with geology or computer modelling.

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/lunar-01d.html

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Gary-O; Murfreesboro, TN — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:58:49 GMT

I am as fundamentalist a Christian as they come. When I look up at the night sky or at photos of the heavenly bodies that God created I cannot help but become even more awestruck at His power and might. And I ask myself - why did He put them there in the first place. The answer, I think, is to inspire us to look beyond ourselves and our little sphere of existence. I believe He wants us to reach out and explore the vastness before us. Why else would He put it there? Just for decoration? I think not. God is not wasteful nor is He vain and extravagant. So, yes, take care of life on Earth, by all means. But don't forget to reach for the heavens, too.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Steve, Cucamonga, CA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:32:06 GMT

Why do people continue to quote Genesis in a science forum? Besides that, didn't Genesis crash in a Utah desert?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Todd, Billerica, MA — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:39:32 GMT

1. NASA does an amazing job of scientific discoveries with less than 1% of the total budget.

2. If you think the pitance of cash NASA has can help some other program you have issues of your own to work out.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

RALPH, BRYSON CITY NC — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:22:40 GMT

God wants us to explore the universe, why do you think She made is so interesting. That is assuming you think!
Want to revive the economy and solve global warming, unload the military budget in to NASA. Uneomplyment: solved, science education deficits:solved, spacebased solar power with zero carbon footprint:solved. Not to mention the medical technology spinoffs.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

peter NJ — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:45:14 GMT

there once was a time when einstein was hailed like a rock star. we've become so self-absorbed that we can't look beyond our own noses. once people believed that the earth was flat and the center of everything. unfortunately there are still people that believe that today.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Doc Smith, Austin. Texas — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:48:16 GMT

[...] Thousands of years ago when the human race had not the ability to see anything not visible in the normal spectrum of light and not much more as far as what was happening just a few hundred miles away, or just inches away and out of sight in the microscopic world, they made up what to them were good theories as to how we got here. Using the technology of their times. [...] These folks would think you a god if you were seen by them in your car on your cell phone lighting a smoke with a bic lighter. To them the sun revolved around the Earth the heavens were a series of glass spheres one inside the other and the earth was flat. There may well be an all powerful god out there somewhere, but you can bet your deluded bippy that if there is, He/She/it, is so much vaster than your poor little mind, or mine will ever grasp. That there may as well not be one. Those of you who suffer from this malady known as Religion, are the same folks that until just a few centuries ago were cutting out hearts to feed the hungry gods. The same guys, that even more recently burned old ladies at the stake as witches, The same guys who lynched Negroes to keep those subhumans in line and more recently still, flew airplanes into the Twin Towers, all in the name of a merciful, benevolent God.

If you were to add up all the death over the last 10,000 years, you would find that religion has directly caused more life to be lost than all the Wars, Plagues and accidents put together. Your inability to face up to the reality's of life, ie, you live you die, no reward for points or who has the most toys. The arrogance that you zealots display is mind bending, The Church of the Presumptuous Assumption, the unreasoned belief that humans are some how part god is the absolute hight of arrogance. If we have any claim to anything heavenly, it's that we are all comprised of stellar matter "Created" in a Star as it died. Get a grip on reality ... mankind needs to explore the galaxy, in case you haven't noticed we are gobbling up the Earth's resources at a tremendous rate. There needs to be a way to import more from the closest place, that's space. Not Wal-Mart. Get your head out of the sand, stand up and be a man. There is no one coming in a " cloud " or in anything else to save us from our gluttony. There is an old saying; Lead,Follow or get the hell out of the way. Traditions are nice and all well and good, until they threaten the existence of life. Science offers us a way to maybe continue our existence into the next couple of centuries, if the mistakes of the past, where we said, don't worry, God will come save us, don't kill us first. Because of that mind set, the Glaciers are melting the planet is heating up the Fish and Plankton they need to survive and tens of thousand other species are on the verge of extinction. How much damage does a worn-out old belief have to do before we come to our collective senses?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Wayne — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:58:48 GMT

If people can't afford to live, why would they look to a government to help them? They should make do themselves, be self-sufficient and not a burden to anyone else.

Keep sending our money into the skies - after all, that's all we'll have to go to once we destroy this planet.

Cheers!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

D Hughes, Salt Lake City, UT — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:59:28 GMT

There will never be a time when the congress will say "everyone has been fed, housed, clothed and have a Wii, so now lets explore the solar system". I don't know the exact figure but after the 100's of billions spent on social programs since the 50's is far more than what has been spent on space programs and yet there is still poor in America. Maybe those complaining of the waste spent on space should look at the waste spent with no results. The small percentage spent on space as expanded our (humanity) knowledge of the universe and inspiring creativity in materials/knowledge that has benifited mankind more than increasing welfare checks a little.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Alan Sheets, Loveland CO — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:23:36 GMT

$2 out of my pocket to explore Mercury? I think I can afford that out of my lunch money, and still be able to afford a good Gideon Bible ($5).

Mercury's hidden side revealed

John Fields, Kenner, LA 70062 — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:49:06 GMT

This is a very interesting article, however I think the readers would be more atuned to see the hidden side of our moon. I know I would.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:35:04 GMT

Gary-O..you need a good infusion of The God Delusion. Go ahead, read it and get your compass straightened. Theology is not even a subject. It doesn't even qualify as a philosophy.

Science is a subject and very real. It has been well documented that the belief in God (ie. an entity, most comfortably "a male", that resides outside of the universe) is inversely proportional to level of education and intelligence. But there is in fact a small minority of true scientists (eminent and not so eminent) that believe in a God or are "religious". There are more atheists out there than people are willing to admit to.

Keep looking up !

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Frank, Grand Junction, Co — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:35:15 GMT

To all the idiots complaining about wasting money on space exploration: NASA's budget for 2008 is 0.6% of the National Budget ($2.9 Trillion). Do you really think cutting NASA's funding will solve social security or fix health care?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Cory, Hole in the Earth, WV — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:48:27 GMT

Space exploration is crucial to the future of earth and its inhabitants. If we do not explore other worlds and galaxys, then would just be floating around in space on our rock waiting for our eventual demise. I credit NASA for todays technology the technology of tomorrow! Keep up the good work!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

RAY BELANGER — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:11:57 GMT

STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE MONEY SPENT,IT DOESN'T EVEN EXIST UNTIL YOU SPEND IT, THIS IS HOW MONEY IS LITERALLY MADE, THIS IS CALLED CAPITALISUM. IT'S LIKE AN ACTIVITY THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN UNLESS YOU CAUSE IT TO HAPPEN.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

JC, Fairbanks, AK — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:48:21 GMT

Since I work, indirectly, for this very program (space exporation, I must say I am heartened by the number of people writing in to this post-column who are behind it. One last thing I'd like to add is this: It's a fact that as soon as something a govenment agency comes up with shows profit potential, "business/industry" moves in. They lobby the hell out of Congress demanding it be turned over to them. If they weren't required to 'sell' their discoveries to "private industry" (read: "plutocrats") for a song, NASA could be nearly self-sustaining. The same is true of a couple other departments, and *especially true of the NIH. At the very least their budgets could be alot smaller for the same return of knowledge THAT *ALL* OF US PAY FOR.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Wade — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:02:25 GMT

Why does a friend of mine live of the government? You could throw that into the mix as easily as some of you try to offend with barbs about spending when "so many need help". If we gave all our resources away, what would be accomplished? I am leaving this as a purposely open-ended question, as for anyone not smart enough to know the answer to.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Frank Glover rochester, NY — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:29:44 GMT

"We already know the history of the solar system. Look it up, it's all explained in Genesis. This $427 million could have been put to much better use in faith-based initiatives instead, or, Heaven forbid, it could have been returned to the taxpayers"

Following your initative, should we not simply wait for Manna from Heaven to fix the other problems?

Granted, this is originally ancient Greek, not Christian, but I no believe God helps those who help (and educate) themselves.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

M.Peterson, Fresno CA — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:11:11 GMT

Along with the heavens and the Earth, God has apparently created a lot of idiots as well.

Bubba, you rock!

Michael Gravel, What exactly are "Protocell shields"?? To protect us from what? The invading Venusians?? If you're talking about exterrestrial impact risks I don't really think we're all that "protected." Just go outside and ask the first dinosaur you see. Oh, but wait, since you referred to these "shields" being "created" I'll assume you mean created by the will of some supernatural mega-being who's out there watching over us, and who created the heavenly body Mercury, along with the dinosaur fossils which are deeply imbedded in rock strata that only "seem" to be very old, and all this was done about 6 thousand years ago, give or take a few begats and begots.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Wayne< Alamogorod, NM — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:29:27 GMT

Thomas, I don't know how to break this to you, but over 75% of the people in America believe in a creator. That's a scientific fact based on statistical data. You mention scientific documents that state belief in God is inversely proportional to someone's education and intelligence. 99% of the people who interact with each other on this blog are thinking right now that you're full of @#$%, even if they don't believe in God themselves. Preach your gospel somewhere else.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Dan,Boston,MA — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:44:38 GMT

scrap the space program and spend the money on food, housing, and a cleaner enviorment for those in need.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Bob Moretti, Arcadia, CA — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:52:47 GMT

All you crybabies talking about Why can't we spend on this, or that, or this and that ... when is the last time you PERSONALLY helped the injured war vets? When is the last time you PERSONALLY helped out a homeless person? Get the point?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

j d h — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:26:14 GMT

The money spent for the Louisianan Purchase was criticized back in the day also. Imagine if that got purchased by the Russians if the U.S. declined to buy it. "That money could have been given back to the taxpayers." LOL, if you don't have healthcare, get a better job [...]

Mercury's hidden side revealed

dude in the midwest — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:35:42 GMT

Barry from Newport News, you are very well uneducated if you don't think NASA has not contributed to a fossil fuel solution. They use fuel cells, that are being developed for cars, they use batteries, that are in cars now, and they perfected ceramics to absorb and deflect heat, which makes modern engines lighter and more fuel efficient. Go buy a horse if you are so concerned about fossil fuels.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

KAJ, Delafield, Wisconsin — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 13:51:07 GMT

Excuse me people, Bush is spending $2 BILLION a week and the LIVES of your sons and daughters in Iraq, on a "war" that is pointless and unfounded. If you want to complain about something, complain about that. The huge benefits of space exploration and scientific advancement are historically clear and valuable...

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Darrell Dixon Waterford Michigan — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:13:15 GMT

Space is endless,technoligy is increasing.Not today and maby not tomorrow,but someday the combination of the two will save humanity from distruction,keep looking up.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Traci, Milwaukee WI — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:28:02 GMT

The shortsightedness of some people is astounding. Without the space program, we would be living without hundreds of products from instant-drink mix to velcro to palm-sized computers and airbags.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:18:23 GMT

Wayne of NM..you just don't know. I am speaking of real scientifically designed studies among the scientist population. Not some hokey invalid "street interview" type study in the general population.

I wholly belief a scientist reporting on a scientific study over "joe blow" in the general population any day. But you can keep your head in the sand as long as you want, it's a free society.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Dave T. — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:51:01 GMT

At the end of this month an asteroid with an impact force of 100 megatons of TNT has a 1 in 25 chance of hitting the planet Mars.
This sort of an impact on our planet would create a crater similar to that in the state of Arizona, over 100 feet deep and a mile across. Aside from the impact damage to surrounding areas, the amount of debris thrown into the atmosphere would circle the globe, causing further damage to the air we breathe, our current & future crops, our water supply, to weather patterns and to all life forms in many other ways.
Without the technological expertise developed through our space programs now and in the future, there is absolutely nothing that could be done to prevent the devastation to the earth that an occurrence such as this would cause.
The asteroid that is going to be a "near miss" to Mars was not discovered to be a threat until early this year. As for the earth, mars, the moon, etc. it is only a matter of time . . . quite possibly in our lifetime we are going to NEED the technology we are developing to save the planet.

[Alan adds: The chances for the asteroid strike on Mars were at one time 1-in-25, but since then the risk has been reduced to nearly zero. Here's the story on that: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22592439/ ... Nevertheless, the "only a matter of time" observation still likely holds true.]

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Jason. Vineland, nj — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 04:35:37 GMT

Im sorry i have to respond to all these people wondering why we do not put our money elsewhere... Its simple, U stay on a planet for to long u die out... Its a fact... 2 many things threated a single planted... For the human race to continue we need to adventure out.. if not we die out stop thinking about your selves cause its our children and there children that this will help out the most.. If a big astroid comes at us.. where do u wanna be , cause if your here your dead... think about it... its simple science..

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Rog, Northern Indiana — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:14:07 GMT

Get out your laptops,bluetooth,and go to the internet cafe
Thank you, NASA research.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Wayne, Alamogordo, NM — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:45:16 GMT

Thomas, we sure got off target of the subject, but let me make a final statement concerning statistics. Statistics is a well recognized branch of math that is easily understood by most people. When I said that over 75% of the people in America believe in a Creator, that's from statistical data. I think Allen can back me up on this one that statistics are a valid form of proof when it comes to a consensus on a subject (only valid is the sample is large enough and focused enough like the one I'm referring to was). Your argument that a few scientists of your choosing say their is no Creator (God) is based on opinion and is not backed statistically.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

JC, Fairbanks — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:27:11 GMT

As a follow up to Dave T., a truly scary thing is that at least 3 asteroids/comets zipped past earth in the last few years *that we didn't detect until they had already flown by* us. One of them passed much closer than the Moon to us.....

Oh, and T.Ashby is correct. There is a mark'ed drop-off of superstitious belief between the scientific community and the general one; this is a fact, not belief. I know since1 I work around other scientists every day.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Doug Rhody — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:35:27 GMT

You know what? The Bible does not tell us about Mercury or any planet, star, moon or any Galixy in the Universe. Think really hard!!!! Do you ever wonder why? The "Real God" gave us the brains to be used to try to understand everything in the Universe that He made for all of us, and He want's us know everything. The number one threat to the earth is regligous ignorance and over population. Only science and our best brains, that the "Real God" gave us, can save us. Without this intellegence the Earth and Universe is completely useless. The Real God knew this all along........

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Doug, Frankfort, Ky. — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:43:06 GMT

As for me, I am overwhelmed by the ignorance of these "so called" Bible blogers. I have read the Bible three times and I understand it. If you have any brains at all, you would know that it is fairy tales. Did you ever wonder why so many preachers go bad????? They don't believe it either. In my experences, the most vocal of these religous extremest have never read all of the Bible. I really thought only intelegent people would even be reading anything at one of these NASA sites. Go for everything NASA. Don't let the stupid comments keep you from doing your "Real God" given talents to save the earth and its people, which you are really leading up to doing.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Dan Hranek, Ashburn, Virginia — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:33:03 GMT

Look at the history of mankind. In the beginning, there were very few of us. We huddled in caves afraid of the night. With time, we began to use our brains. We began to use fire and invent tools to make life better. We spread across this whole planet. If we continue as we have been, we will eventually run out of real estate and resources. What will we do then? Luckily, there has always been some of us who realize that exploration and innovation ALWAYS pays off. Some of us will be lucky enough to move outward -- to the moon, to Mars and the rest of the Solar System and eventually to other star systems. The "flat-worlders" and "nay-sayers" will be welcome to stay here on an over-populated and resource-plundered tiny planet called Earth. What a sad destiny for mankind it would be to die out having only lived on one planet. Why don't people share the excitement of learning new things about the universe we live in? There is plenty of money to fix the problems we face on Earth and to continue to explore and learn. What could mankind have done if we had not wasted so much on war, the cold war and nuclear weapons? It is time for us to grow up and realize that there is only one planet. We don't need to divide it up and hate everyone who lives somewhere else. We should all work together to solve our problems and to learn about the universe. Sadly, the people in power would have to give up some of it in order for us to form a united world. That HAS to happen before mankind can grow up and really move forward. At any rate, let's keep spending money on exploration. We will die out if we don't.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Ron, Sagamore Hills, OH — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:49:58 GMT

Time to stir the pot a bit: Before anything, i'd like to say that i agree that going to Mercury doesn't seem like it would be of much value. Having said that, the funds for this mission were probably allocated back in the mid-90s. Second, the government doesn't really invent anything (except new ways to spend money and/or tax us), so the cash spent on the mission would have probably been sent to some other meaningless program. Third, the imaging technology used for these probes has lead to improved medical imaging, your digital camera, HDTV etc. Finally, to NOT do these things would have us stagnate even further. Sometimes we need to do these projects just to challenge ourselves. You never know what things you discover here, all because we went there.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Dawn Weeks, New Baltimore, Michigan — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:35:18 GMT

Ahhhh, memory foam... created by Nasa allows me to have a good nites sleep for the FIRST time in over 10 YEARS.Cost? PRICELESS!!! Enough said.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Cal, Chico, Ca — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:51:06 GMT

The lack of intellectual curiousity shown by many of these posts shows why our country is in the mess it is today. If you think science is a crock please turn off the lights, the TV and the dishwasher, stop driving your car and don't you dare go to the doctor because those are all the product of "know nothing" science. I guess we are supposed to spend our time singing Kum-buy-yah and talking to our imaginary friends.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Terry, Carthage NC — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:39:22 GMT

Inquisitive-curious=MAN This is good! 427 mill is not a lot. On May 14, 1996, an asteroid passed 280,000 miles from earth. WOW,I missed that,glad it missed us too!! A smart man once said "The earth is too fragile to have all of mankinds eggs in one basket" think about it.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Ed T, Richmond Va — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:41:54 GMT

To those who are concerned by the amount of money spent on "worthless" space exploration I say this: take all of the money you spend on your entertainment - TV, Books, movies, professional sports, all of mush less worth to society - and donate them to charity. Once we have bled out that money and not fixed the problems, then perhaps we can look at the space program

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Jim, from Las Cruces, NM - Home of Spaceport America — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 06:49:08 GMT

Thanks to everyone who's written before me, I've been pleasantly entertained this evening, for the past hour or so reading all the comments. So here goes mine...

Whoever said "You can't please all of the people, all of the time", sure knew human nature!!!

OK, let's see...

To all you 'seperationists' - God & science can & do very easily co-exist together, and empirical evidence IS everywhere, if you don't see it, you must be blind!

To the knuckle draggers who think we're wasting money in outer space, I say this... If you are always looking down, all you'll ever see is dirt, if you are always looking straight ahead, you'll see the good & bad of man, but if look up to the Heavens, you will see the power of God and the dreams of explorers. Moral... just look all around?!

Nough said... Go NASA!, Go Explorers!, Go Dreamers!

Mercury's hidden side revealed

JC, Fairbanks, AK — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:52:17 GMT

Good one, Dawn Weeks!!

"God & science can & do very easily co-exist" . . . Not when reality and belief collide, Jim.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

vddffhfh,loa wash — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:32:09 GMT

how come mercury has no moons?

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Rick Laviolette — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:25:13 GMT

Let's take all the money we give the church & toss it into the air. What God wants he'll take and the rest we can give to the space programs to raise it from the dismal 1% of the national budget to about 4%. It was Venus flybys that taught the treehuggers about depletion of the ozone in the Antarctic. It was the same that brought them satellites for their Blackberries. It was the discovery of he-3 on the moon that may satiate our energy appetite. It is the space program that is monitoring the melting polar caps. It was the space program that brought computers and hi-resolution cameras to the world. It will be the Space Programs that will save us if a rock decides to splat your church and the surrounding planet goes into nuclear winter. The Space Programs will perhaps, be the only peaceful advancement of technology and it sure beats fueling a war hands down. Remember God helps those who help themselves.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

Rick Laviolette — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:34:37 GMT

One thing should be included about studying Mercury. Its anomalous orbit and iron/nickel core deflect solar flares from the planetary orbits. It is interesting to note that Mercury (God's messenger) sends those flares harmlessly off into space so that we do not experience a solar flare on Earth equivalent to 400,000 Hiroshima bombs (give or take a few hundred thousand.) Seems to me we should try and figure out how it does it. What a few bucks when we are so extinctable as a species.

Mercury's hidden side revealed

nysua boston massachusettes — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:36:40 GMT

good resurch