First Image of MESSENGER's Extended Mission!

First Image of MESSENGER's Extended Mission! › Full Size

One year ago, MESSENGER became the first spacecraft ever to orbit Mercury. On March 18, 2012, MESSENGER completed its one-year primary mission and began a yearlong extended mission that includes a number of new scientific observation campaigns. The image shown here was acquired yesterday and is the first of MESSENGER's extended mission.

Date acquired: March 18, 2012

Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington