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  • “Exploration is in our nature.” - Carl Sagan

Great News About Messenger

For Immediate Release
March 17, 2011

Contact
Mat Kaplan
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1-626-793-5100

The Planetary Society has issued the following statements regarding MESSENGER's successful orbital insertion at Mercury:

"MESSENGER is orbiting Mercury!" said Bill Nye, Executive Director of the Planetary Society. "It's rocket science at its best. Before this success, Mercury was the only inner planet that had never been orbited by a spacecraft."

"MESSENGER's going into orbit is a momentous accomplishment in humanity's quest to explore the solar system," said Bruce Betts, the Planetary Society's Director of Projects. "The mission has already helped us complete humanity's initial reconnaissance of the inner solar system, and provided ground breaking science to help us understand fascinating and exotic Mercury."

About The Planetary Society

With a global community of more than 2 million space enthusiasts, The Planetary Society is the world’s largest and most influential space advocacy organization. Founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman and today led by CEO Bill Nye, we empower the public to take a meaningful role in advancing space exploration through advocacy, education outreach, scientific innovation, and global collaboration. Together with our members and supporters, we’re on a mission to explore worlds, find life off Earth, and protect our planet from dangerous asteroids. To learn more, visit www.planetary.org.

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