NASA has created a device that enables them to learn more
about Mercury by investigating its surface and its exosphere, which is its
uppermost region of atmosphere. They
sent the Mercury
Atmosphere and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) along with the
Messenger spacecraft to investigate the minerals and Mercury’s surface in
general. For the past 4 years, the
device has been gathering surface measurements and now, the characteristics of
Mercury’s wide surface as well as the smaller landscapes can be examined. The measurments “have been overlain on the
monochrome mosiac from the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS), an instrument
with wide- and narrow-angle cameras to map the rugged landforms and spectral
variations on Mercury's surface”. Although
the Messenger spacecraft is the first of its kind to orbit Mercury, it has proven
to be very successful. Since it first
entered orbit around the planet, the craft has captured over 250,000 images
along with the data it has gathered utilizing its variety of devices.
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