Posted: Sun, Oct 5, 2008, 8:12 PM ET (0012 GMT)
NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft is set to make the second of three planned flybys of the innermost planet, Mercury, early Monday. The spacecraft will make its closest approach to the planet at 4:41 am EDT (0841 GMT) Monday, passing 200 kilometers above the surface. The flyby will be the second for MESSENGER, after one in January. A third flyby will take place next September before the spacecraft enters orbit around Mercury in March 2011. MESSENGER, which stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, was launched in 2004 on a mission to study the planet in much greater detail than ever before.

Related Links:

•  Reuters article
•  SPACE.com article
•  New Scientist article
•  Baltimore Sun article
•  NASA press release