Space Probes and Human Exploration
Getting Close (January 15, 2008)
 The Messenger spacecraft snapped this view of a crescent Mercury, from a distance of about a half-million miles, a few hours before flying just 125 miles (200 km) above the planet on January 14. This is the first close encounter with Mercury in more than 30 years, and the first of several scheduled for Messenger. It will enter orbit around the planet in 2011. [NASA/JHUAPL/Carnegie]
» More Space Probes and Human Exploration images in the Image Gallery
News & Features
» Get the latest on the exploration of Saturn and its moons on our Cassini Updates & Images page.
» Get the latest news on the search for extrasolar planets from pages of StarDate magazine.
» More information about planets around other stars.
» Get all the facts and information on all the latest explorations in the Solar System Guide.
» Planet Search Continues With New Techniques (StarDate magazine)
» IMAX Film Recalls Mir's Better Days (StarDate magazine)
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there other planets in the Milky Way?
Are there plans to return to the Moon?
Are there shortcuts through space?
Are we trying to contact extraterrestrial civilizations?
Have we visited all the planets in the solar system?
Why can't we see stars in the pictures of spacewalking or moonwalking astronauts?
Will we ever visit other stars?
Keywords
Apollo Project
Artificial Satellites
Astronauts and Cosmonauts
Biology
Cassini to Saturn
Chinese Space Program
Clementine Spacecraft
CONTOUR (Comet Nucleus Tour)
Dawn probe
Deep Impact Mission
Deep Space Missions
European Astronomy and Space Program
Experimental Aircraft and Test Pilots
Explorer Missions
Extrasolar Planets
Galileo to Jupiter
Gemini Program
Genesis probe
Goddard, Robert
International Space Station
Japanese Space Program
Kepler Mission
Life on Mars
Life on Other Planets
Lunar Exploration
Lunar Prospector
Mariner Probes
Mars Climate Orbiter
Mars Express
Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Odyssey
Mars Pathfinder
Mars Polar Lander
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity
Mercury Project
Messenger to Mercury
Mir Space Station
NASA and the American Space Program
NASA Discovery Missions
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Mission
New Horizons Mission to Pluto
Origins of Life
Phoenix Mars Lander
Pioneer Probes
Planetary Formation
Rocketry
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
Skylab
Soviet/Russian Space Program
Space Exploration
Space Shuttle
Space Stations
Space Travel
Stardust probe
Stereo probes
Venus Express
Viking to Mars
Voyager Probes
Wormholes
AstroGlossary Terms
Terms to learn or review include escape velocity, orbit, and light-year.
Links
Apollo Archive
Extrasolar Planets Search
The Astrobiology Web: Extrasolar Planetary Systems
JPL Missions
Planetary Exploration Timeline
New Horizons Mission to Pluto
Warp Drive When?
SETI Institute
The SETI League
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