UM technology used in Mercury flyby

Thursday, January 17, 2008 | Source: University of Michigan News Service

To the moon, University of Michigan! To the moon!

Okay, Mercury will do.

A UM-designed instrument will be used to take measurements of Mercury's atmosphere and space environment. How cool is that?

Excerpt: The Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS) instrument onboard MESSENGER, designed and built at U-M, will take measurements to determine what Mercury's atmosphere is composed of and how the planet interacts with its space environment. The planet's magnetic field and its proximity to the sun provide an interesting test-case for interaction of the solar wind with terrestrial planets.

Read the entire article here.