New Views of Mercury.

NASA will host a news conference at 1 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 16, to reveal new images and science findings from the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. The event will be held in the NASA Headquarters auditorium located at 300 E St. SW, in Washington. NASA Television and the agency's website will broadcast the event.

NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, or MESSENGER spacecraft conducted more than a dozen laps through the inner solar system for six years prior to achieving the historic orbit insertion on March 17.

Briefing participants are:
-- Brett Denevi, scientist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) , Laurel, Md.
-- Ralph McNutt, Jr., MESSENGER project scientist, APL
-- Larry Nittler, scientist, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington
-- Sean Solomon, MESSENGER principal investigator, Carnegie Institution

Wall Slumps: This high-resolution image of a crater wall shows several slumps that occurred after the 20-km-diameter crater formed.

Date acquired: May 21, 2011/ Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University  Applied
Physics Laboratory
lied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Crater Degradation: The craters in this scene span a variety of degradation states.

Date acquired: May 22, 2011/Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Revealing More Northern Terrain: This image reveals previously unseen terrain near Mercury's north pole.

Date acquired: May 22, 2011/Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Crescent View of Mercury: Mercury forms a beautiful crescent shape in this image, acquired as the MESSENGER spacecraft was high above Mercury's southern hemisphere.

Date acquired: May 24, 2011/ Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Gazing Over a Cratered World: This striking image was acquired as MDIS used its pivot to look toward the southeast, which is oriented as the top of the image.

Date acquired: May 19, 2011/Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Brights Rays, Small Crater: The crater Han Kan, with a diameter of 50 kilometers, is far from the largest crater in this scene, but its bright rays make it stand out from its many larger neighbors.

Date acquired: May 26, 2011/Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Belinskij and Craters of Darkness: The largest crater in this scene, located in the upper left portion of the image, is Belinskij, named for the Russian literary critic and journalist Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinskij (1811-1848).

Date acquired: May 23, 2011/Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Twin Peaks: MESSENGER captured this view of a medium-sized crater that formed in a smooth plains unit.

Date acquired: May 04, 2011/Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Contacts and sources:

Dwayne Brown 
NASA Headquarters, Washington
Paulette Campbell 
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.