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수성 표면의 비밀이 밝혀지다

by starmaker 2015. 4. 29.



<수성 탐사선 메신저>


수성 표면의 비밀이 밝혀지다.


미국항공우주국(NASA)은 27일(현지 시간) 수성의 비밀을 풀 수 있는 데이터를 발표했다. 수성 탐사선인 메신저((MESSENGER)가 지구로 보내온 자료에 기초로 한 것이다. 메신저에 탑재돼 있는 수성의 대기와 지표면 구성 물질 분광기(MASCS, The Mercury Atmosphere and Surface Composition Spectrometer)를 이용하여 수성의 외기권과 지표면에 대한 연구를 진행해 왔다. 메신저가 보내온 데이터를 통해 수성의 비밀에 한 발짝 더 다가설 수 있을 것으로 예상된다. 메신저는 4년이 조금 넘는 기간 동안 성공적 임무를 수행해 왔으며, 오는 30일 연료가 소진되어 수성에 충돌해 생을 마감할 것이다. 


Unmasking the Secrets of Mercury.


Using MESSENGER, scientists have mapped minerals & the surface of Mercury since 2011.


The Mercury Atmosphere and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) instrument aboard NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft was designed to study both the exosphere and surface of the planet Mercury. To learn more about the minerals and surface processes on Mercury, the Visual and Infrared Spectrometer (VIRS) portion of MASCS has been diligently collecting single tracks of spectral surface measurements since MESSENGER entered Mercury orbit on March 17, 2011. The track coverage is now extensive enough that the spectral properties of both broad terrains and small, distinct features such as pyroclastic vents and fresh craters can be studied.


The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the solar system's innermost planet. In the mission's more than four years of orbital operations, MESSENGER has acquired over 250,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER's highly successful orbital mission is about to come to an end, as the spacecraft runs out of propellant and the force of solar gravity causes it to impact the surface of Mercury near the end of April 2015.


http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/unmasking-the-secrets-of-mercury


http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia19419.jpg


http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/messenger-artist-concept.jpg


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






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