Messenger Mercury Probe Set for Liftoff
Messenger Mercury Probe Set for Liftoff
The Messenger spacecraft on its Cape Canaveral launch pad. NASA hide caption
The Messenger spacecraft on its Cape Canaveral launch pad. NASA hide caption
NASA prepares to launch a space probe Monday that will conduct an expedition to the planet Mercury. The Messenger craft -- the name stands for Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging -- is slated to arrive at Mercury in 2011.
The probe will be launched from Cape Canaveral, where it was recently placed atop a Boeing Delta II rocket.
NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.