Museum Lectures

Celebrate MESSENGER!

Mercury
Credit: NASA

Rose Center for Earth and Space
Enter at 81st Street

Ticket Info

Free

On March 17, 2011, the MESSENGER spacecraft will enter orbit about the innermost planet, Mercury, and become the first craft ever to do so. A critical 15-minute orbital maneuver will initiate a one-year science campaign to understand the innermost planet. The MESSENGER spacecraft, developed under NASA’s Discovery Program and launched over six years ago, is the first space probe to investigate Mercury in more than 30 years. Join Denton Ebel, associate curator in the Museum’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Joe Boesenberg, senior scientific assistant in the department, as they share the details of this maneuver and watch a live video feed from the Mission Operations Center.

Starlight Cafe will offer refreshments for purchase from 8 - 10 pm.