Sunday, 28 December 2014

MESSENGER uses helium for last minute reprieve



Now orbiting the planet Mercury after over ten years in space, NASA's MESSENGERspacecraft is still functioning better than expected. Its mission will soon come to an end though – it's running out of fuel and is scheduled to crash into the planet in March. However, mission control have come up with a novel plan that will use the helium used to pressurize the unmanned probe's engine to give it another month of life. .. Continue Reading MESSENGER uses helium for last minute reprieve

Section: Space

Tags: Johns Hopkins University, Mercury, Messenger, NASA, Spacecraft

Related Articles:
MESSENGER sends back historic first image of Mercury from orbit
MESSENGER becomes first spacecraft to orbit Mercury
MESSENGER makes compelling case for water on planet Mercury
MESSENGER finds signs of Mercury meteor showers
QinetiQ ion thrusters to drive BepiColombo mission to Mercury
ESA BepiColombo mission to Mercury gets go-ahead

No comments: