Nov. 2006

MESSENGER Completes Venus Flyby
NASA’s Mercury-bound MESSENGER spacecraft came within 2,990 kilometers (1,860 miles) of the surface of Venus early Tuesday morning during its second planetary encounter. The spacecraft used the tug of the planet’s gravity to change its trajectory significantly, shrinking the radius of its orbit around the Sun and bringing it closer to Mercury.

Shortly before the Venus flyby the spacecraft entered superior conjunction, placing it on the exact opposite side of the sun as Earth, making communication between MESSENGER and Mission Operations difficult, if not impossible. LASP’s MASCS spectrometer will observe Venus during the second flyby in June 2007.

In late November, when routine radio contact with the spacecraft is re-established, the team will collect data to determine how closely MESSENGER followed its plans and to update knowledge of its orbit. This information will enable operators to plan for the December 12 trajectory correction maneuver that will target the spacecraft for the second Venus flyby.