Decades-old idea brought to fruition: a mission to Mercury
Excerpt from the February 6, 1965 issue of Science News Letter
![Messenger maps](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/729245main_messenger_orbit_image201302022_1_4by3_1024-768Edit.jpg?fit=840%2C460&ssl=1)
GLOBAL COVERAGE The MESSENGER probe created these maps of Mercury based on thousands of images.
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington