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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

MESSENGER departs Venus

MESSENGER departs Venus
MESSENGER departs Venus After acquiring hundreds of high-resolution images during close approach to Venus, MESSENGER turned its wide-angle camera back to the planet and acquired a departure sequence. These images provide a spectacular good-bye to the cloud-shrouded planet while also providing valuable data to the camera calibration team. The first image was taken June 6, 2007 at 12:58 UTC, and the final image on June 7 at 02:18 UTC. During this 25 hour, 20 minute period the spacecraft traveled 833,234 kilometers (more than twice the distance from the Earth to the Moon) with respect to Venus at an average speed of 9.13 kilometers per second. NASA / JHUAPL