Researchers at NASA are amazed by the MESSENGER spacecrafts recent flyby of Mercury. The new look given by this recent flyby shows characteristics unlike that of Earths. For example, a diversity of geological processes and a very different magnetosphere from the one discovered and sampled more than 30 years ago.
The first flyby of Mercury on Jan. 14 took an array of images, around 1,200, as well as making other important scientific observations. Unlike the moon, the spacecraft showed that Mercury has huge cliffs with structures snaking up hundreds of miles across the planet's face. These cliffs preserve a record of patterns of fault activity from early in the planet's history. The spacecraft also revealed impact craters that appear very different from lunar craters.
Distinctive characteristics of Mercury were its huge cliffs with structures snaking up hundreds of miles across the planet's face. Also, the flyby indicated impact craters that appear very different from lunar craters.
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