It is only one week until MESSENGER, led by DTM's Sean Solomon as Principal Investigator, will become the first spacecraft to orbit the planet Mercury.  On the evening of 17 March 2011 (18 March UTC), MESSENGER's propulsion system will execute a 15-minute maneuver to achieve the planned orbit.  The probe will continue to orbit the planet once every 12 hours for the one-year primary mission.

During the first few days after orbit insertion, MESSENGER will be focused on ensuring that all spacecraft systems and instruments are working well in the harsh thermal environment of the Solar System's innermost planet.  The interval is known as the orbital commissioning phase.  On 4 April the science mapping phase of the mission will begin.

Solomon and other members of the MESSENGER Science Team will be watching the spacecraft's entry into orbit at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, along with representatives of NASA, members of the press, and special invitees.  Through a live webcast from APL, parallel events will be staged at Co-Investigator institutions and science museums around the country.

Click here http://www.space.com/11099-mercury-messenger-mission-solomon-qa.html to read SPACE.com's Q&A with Sean Solomon, "NASA's Mercury Boss".

For up-to-date information, please visit http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/mer_orbit.html.