Editing MESSENGER (section)

===Three Mercury flybys===
{{main|Exploration of Mercury}}
''MESSENGER'' made a flyby of Mercury on January 14, 2008 (making its closest approach of 200&nbsp;km above the surface of Mercury at 19:04:39 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]), followed by a second flyby on October 6, 2008.<ref name="jhuapl1"/> ''MESSENGER'' executed a final flyby on September 29, 2009, further slowing down the spacecraft.<ref name="jhuapl2"/><ref name="jhuapl3"/> Sometime during the closest approach of the last flyby, the spacecraft entered [[Safe mode (spacecraft)|safe mode]]. Although this had no effect on the trajectory necessary for later orbit insertion, it resulted in the loss of science data and images that were planned for the outbound leg of the fly-by. The spacecraft had fully recovered by about seven hours later.<ref>{{cite web|title=MESSENGER Gains Critical Gravity Assist for Mercury Orbital Observations |url=http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/news_room/details.php?id=136 |date=September 30, 2009 |publisher=MESSENGER Mission News |access-date=September 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510175510/http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/news_room/details.php?id=136 |archive-date=May 10, 2013 }}</ref> One last deep space maneuver, DSM-5, was executed on November 24, 2009, at 22:45 UTC to provide the required {{convert|0.177|km/s}} velocity change for the scheduled Mercury orbit insertion on March 18, 2011, marking the beginning of the orbital mission.<ref>{{cite press release | url= http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/news_room/details.php?id=140 | title= Deep-Space Maneuver Positions MESSENGER for Mercury Orbit Insertion | date= November 24, 2009 | publisher= Johns Hopkins University | access-date= April 20, 2010 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130513075449/http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/news_room/details.php?id=140 | archive-date= May 13, 2013 }}</ref>
<gallery class="center" widths="175" heights="135" style="font-size:95%; line-height:130%">
File:Mercury in color c1000 700 430.png|alt=The first high-resolution color Wide Angle Camera image of Mercury acquired by MESSENGER|The first high-resolution color Wide Angle Camera image of Mercury acquired by ''MESSENGER''.
File:MESSENGER first photo of unseen side of mercury.jpg|alt=Mercury from later in the first flyby|Mercury from later in the first flyby, showing many previously unknown features
File:CW0131775256F Kuiper Crater.png|alt=View from the second flyby in October 2008|View from the second flyby in October 2008, with Kuiper crater near center
File:MESSENGER - CN0162744010M RA 3 web.png|alt=Smooth plains on Mercury imaged by MESSENGER during the third flyby of the planet.|Smooth plains of [[Borealis Planitia]] imaged by ''MESSENGER'' during the third flyby of the planet.
File:MESSENGER EN0108828359M.png|alt=An image of part of the previously unseen side of the planet|An image of part of the previously unseen side of the planet.
File:MESSENGER - BV Microsymposium49.jpg|alt=Lava-flooded craters and large expanses of smooth volcanic plains on Mercury.|Lava-flooded craters and large expanses of smooth volcanic plains on Mercury.
File:Rachmaninoff crater.png|alt=A photo of Mercury with Rachmaninoff crater centered|View with [[Rachmaninoff (crater)|Rachmaninoff crater]], from third flyby
</gallery>