Why is the Closest Planet Also the Most Difficult to Visit? | NASA's MESSENGER Mercury Probe

[@vincephan344]

I can't imagine the math required to calculate all of the fly bys and gravitational assists to pull off this mission, hats off to scientists/mathematicians.

[@SirMegaManNeoX]

Donig the math knowing you'd never get to see the results is heart-wrenching. But knowing you're the only one who can do it, makes ya feel special.

[@dubayyuae8696]

Our phones can do the calulations

[@SirMegaManNeoX]

@@dubayyuae8696 Now, Yes. But back then, No.

[@dubayyuae8696]

@@SirMegaManNeoX we are discussing the messenger mission not the 1974 mission. hence the words THIS MISSION. Phones were available with multi core multi thread and theory processosing

[@SirMegaManNeoX]

@@dubayyuae8696 Wow. Okay thanks.🥺

[@dragonsnipero509]

Chen-wan L. Yen received a PhD in Theoretical Physics from MIT in 1964. She has been with Jet Propulsion Laboratory for over 40 years designing many NASA solar system exploration missions such as Voyager, Cassini, MAGELLAN, Stardust, and MESSENGER and more. Her expertise resides in trajectory optimization utilizing planet gravity assists with ballistic and electric propulsion systems.

[@itachi2011100]

What an absolute badass!

[@leopoldovasquez935]

Goat…

[@helmaschine1885]

3:40 So why did Astrum say HE??

[@SkywalkerSamadhi]

Probably just slipped up. She was a woman.

[@trevordelepine7708]

@@SkywalkerSamadhi pretty crucial slip as it’s not a female heavy field. I had no idea it was a woman, credit where it’s due, she’s certainly smarter than anything I’ll ever do.

[@mononoke721]

Wow, sending the messenger probe on a round trip around different planets in order to slow it down enough to enter Mercury's orbit is what I would call a very creative solution to a very tricky problem. Science in action!

[@jeremybear573]

Agreed!

[@f87115]

@@jeremybear573 people will believe anything ,,,it’s not your fault, you are indoctrinated

[@josepablolunasanchez1283]

There are 4 ways to brake: * Braking using a planet * Aerobraking: Using atmosphere to brake like Apollo and Space Shuttle did * Retrobraking: Use retrorockets to brake, like Apollo moon landings did * Lithobraking. Impact surface. What Dart mission did against asteroid.

[@_Killkor]

@@josepablolunasanchez1283 Also braking using the Sun's outward pushing solar wind and radiation. Like he mentioned in the video, this force is very negligible, but it can add up to something significant over many years and allows to save up on fuel a bit.

[@mhstrawn5217]

Yes, would be very interested in the science findings of the Messenger mission. I literally did not know this mission existed.

[@bluebox2000]

Really fascinating stuff! Messenger took photos of comets, did it take photos of earth from Mercury? What was the most surprising findings about Mercury? Love this series...

[@xl000]

did you know that we landed a probe on Titan (one of Saturn moon, supposedly where Thanos lives) in 2005 ?

[@jnoitanicullah8909]

Cuz its all hype

[@ShadowebEB]

@@bluebox2000 You would only see a small blue dot smaller than you see Venus, so not super interesting.

[@StevieScotty19]

I heard they probed Uranus

[@LINKfromTHElegendOFz]

I love it when two separate space probe missions end up meeting eachother then working together, on one thing briefly.

[@TheBooban]

Its like a book with multiple groups and then they meet up.

[@kingofnara]

Is this something you’ve experienced several times in life lol

[@kenlompart9905]

Yeah, it brings a tear to my eye every time.

[@ellisargamer9248]

Your love is very specific.

[@jaybee9269]

It is very cool.

[@luke-i1w]

Orbital mechanics will forever be that "magic" math to me. I did some very rudimentary orbital calculations in college involving launch and falling into a "simple" earth orbit, and I felt so lost while doing them. Props to anyone who understands them enough to design a mission like this!

[@churchseraphim1380]

You should try Kerbal Space Program. It's not entirely accurate because it only has patched comics approximation instead of true n body gravity but it's a great way to learn and understand orbital mechanics

[@luke-i1w]

@@churchseraphim1380 I've been wanting to try that for years, but with 2 kids I don't have too much time for that.

[@diacoal2433]

@@luke-i1w It's honestly worth it if you ever get time to try. It's 8 bucks on Steam until July 7, but I think it's on sale quite often.

[@luke-i1w]

@@diacoal2433 I will for sure add it to the list. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@josepablolunasanchez1283]

In the end it is about potential energy converted to kinetic energy and viceversa, relative to all planets in the solar system. You may love Orbiter Space Flight Simulator. Search "retrovision orbiter tutorial"

[@Danboi.]

Poor Mercury, it's like the family member who lives close by but never get around to visiting. I've never seen these pics or heard about this before.. sad. Great vid, and Yes!

[@Michiganian8]

That’s poor Pluto ❤️

[@justin_5631]

When you pass venus twice in one trip you start to wonder if you're going the wrong way.

[@hildanichollis129]

Hild Ul

[@Lon1001]

Almost like it's just going around in circles.

[@TransoceanicOutreach]

@@Lon1001 Ellipses.

[@wennwenn1422]

I read your comment in a philosophy voice.

[@jugganuat6440]

@justin they had to stop at batteries plus on the southside of Venus

[@deathblade1011]

Can you imagine how frustrating and stressful it must have been whenever the satellite would just go off into safe mode and wonder if it's gonna be able to come back on or not? Like, just what would be at stake to lose such a piece of equipment. Being an astronomer truly is just playing with your heart for fun.

[@eljanrimsa5843]

I know the feeling very time my laptop decides to go into power save mode.

[@laurachapple6795]

Absolutely want to know more about Mercury! Everybody thinks it's a boring planet but that's only because we know so little about it.

[@Dragrath1]

Yep there is much to learn even from "old" MESSNGER data one fascinating paper a bit over a year ago(or is it 2 now?) was for instance able to make sense of Mercury's chaotic terrains and potentially answering how it became so puny yet dense. It implicates 4.1 billion years of sublimation depleting the planets crust/mantle of volatile metals and gases by noting the terrain structure being similar to landscapes on Mars or Earth where volatiles locked underground revolatilize. If verified then Mercury of today is just the backed out husk of the original Mercury which naturally raises implications for close in exoplanets but that is just one potential factor among many. Mercury for instance still has its own magnetosphere as its liquid outer core slowly continuous to precipitate out.

[@jrhermosura4600]

mercury's awesome imo. he's sitting right next to a star

[@gessnermatt]

It’s literally just a planet that’s getting cooked 24/7

[@Doggeslife]

Boring? no. Barren? Ohh yaz.

[@kylemcphail9016]

Defo!!! More on mercury!

[@genxlibertarian9656]

"Now, if the science findings are somethi-" YES!

[@thextrmntr]

Video When?

[@tarstarkusz]

Everything NASA does is an exercise in setting very low expectations so that no matter how wrong the mission goes, it can be re-framed as a win. Like saying how they "expected" it to take 1000 pictures and it hugely exceeded the expectation by taking a 1/4 million. Reality was it should have taken millions but only took 1/4 of a million. See how that framing works?

[@TheStraightGod]

@@tarstarkusz How do you know that

[@tarstarkusz]

@@TheStraightGod Have you ever worked for a government bureaucracy? I have. That is why they do it.

[@GNParty]

@@tarstarkusz Can I get a link to prove that statement, please?

[@TommentSection]

Oh hey, that's my video at 0:39 :D. It's an honor. Love your content!

[@rmanningau]

Yes please give us more on this.

[@VHenrik007]

YES

[@jesinu]

Oh yeah

[@steven_baconbits]

Yes

[@saptaparnoburmanroy614]

Agreed.

[@glengraham7080]

Yes!

[@BFDT-4]

I did not know that by now all of Mercury has been photographed at hi-res. That's fantastic. It would be interesting to know more.

[@oguzomlet906]

@AndrewWithEase11 11 its a cat

[@theodorethompson9032]

photoshop has vastly improved.

[@dustingaethje1332]

@@theodorethompson9032 Unfortunately, human minds have vastly decreased in quality, as evidenced by your existance.

[@theodorethompson9032]

@@dustingaethje1332 I fix locomotives what do you do with your mind?

[@dustingaethje1332]

@@theodorethompson9032 I'm in training to fix people, so clearly above your station if that's what you're going with

[@TheExplosiveGuy]

What an amazing story the Messenger probe has, I had no idea the mission was so complex. You always hear about the popular missions like Juno or all the Mars explorers, but the oddball ones that go to "less interesting" places that don't have as much public interest can be just as if not cooler (or hotter in the Messenger's case lol) than the popular ones. Now I'm going to have to do some digging and find out more about the project, I'd really like to see some of those images...

[@aelux4179]

I like the idea of a 2 part series on missions, one about why we went and how we got there, and another about what we found. It's a good format, looking forward to hearing more about MESSENGER!

[@Boop_Dogg]

Agreed!

[@PanduPoluan]

Wholeheartedly agree! Astrum should "package" their videos like this. It will be nice 'bite sized' pieces of educational information.

[@srmj71]

Mercury is a planet that most folks know almost nothing about. If you were to do another video, it could be even more informative than this one. I say, heck yeah do another video!

[@ScumfuckMcDoucheface]

exactly the points I was going to make, agree completely

[@trailerhater]

Learned so much and so well presented. Please do more.

[@5Andysalive]

he does have a pretty definitive video on it on the channel. Of course on this very topic, Scott Manley made a video. Because of Beppi Colombo. And of course he got the some of the ususal "should have used a falcon Heavy" comments, missing the point entirely.

[@MarkHobbes]

People just say it's hot and close to the Sun and nothing more deep.

[@makeracistsafraidagain]

We are going to grind up Mercury for raw materials.

[@TrueThanny]

I'm just going to say, right at the start, that everyone who has played _Kerbal Space Program_ and made it to Moho knows the answer. It's delta V.

[@rocksummit3375]

That's what I said! only a month later :p

[@rocksummit3375]

@@R.U.1.2. You clearly never made it to Moho!

[@R.U.1.2.]

@@rocksummit3375 It's just a game, not grounded in reality. I am happy though that you made it to moho and made your day.

[@rocksummit3375]

@@R.U.1.2. Actually it is grounded in reality, that was the whole point hence the reference

[@the18thdoctor3]

@@R.U.1.2. The physics used in KSP are based on real physics. The orbital mechanics are patched conics, basically a combination of Newtonian and Keplerian orbital dynamics, and uses the actual equations to calculate those orbits.

[@OllieWheats]

It's awesome that there's a little bit of humanity waiting patiently on Mercury for someone to one day find it.

[@Puleczech]

Not sure how much of it is left, though. Since they boosted full throttle for the final flight on something that was already going in orbits, the crash was probably very violent.

[@dwilcox3309]

I really like how this channel's content on space exploration gives excitment and intrigue, rather than the existential dread I get from most other's.

[@edwinbowen781]

I love my mercury globe thanks for getting messenger to go to mercury!

[@Brick9]

I would be very interested in the findings of this.

[@lexusmaxus]

Me too

[@Ash-gx2zz]

agreedddd

[@BloodPlusPwn]

Man, what a marvel of an experience. I remember cheering this little fella on whole heartedly. It'll be a legendary one for sure.

[@Ricardo-vm3jl]

I learned with KSP (always the hard way) that's difficult to get close to the sun and the inner planets. It requires a lot of delta V.

[@ThisIsSpaceJim]

Mercury doesn't get anywhere near enough love. Would love to hear more about Messenger.

[@DPtheOG]

Agree. Mercury is very peculiar. Its also got a pleasant surprise, in its magnetism. I liken it to the discovery of water on the Moon--a pleasant surprise albeit raises a lot more questions than before the discovery.

[@DrDrnk]

Strangely, I found an article that says, Mercury is the closest to all the planets on average.

[@a2pabmb2]

@@DrDrnk It is, because it's so close to the center of the solar system it doesn't get nearly as far away as two planets on opposite sides of the system would further out.

[@snig1846]

Great to have the messenger video, especially the part where there is a crater on a pole that is always in the dark yet with mountains that are always in the light. That crater contains water ice. Having a solar panel in such sunlight at all times while having water ice nearby is a tantalizing idea.

[@iNsOmNiAcAnDrEw]

Wow, that is pretty interesting that Mercury is closer to Earth a lot of the time than either Mars or Venus, and because it moves around the Sun fast enough, it makes it the closest on average, too.

[@chriswilliams2106]

I don’t think that was a totally accurate statement. Truth is, it depends on the year. Some years Earth and Venus share transit alignment wherein they’re much closer to each other than Mercury is to Earth. I guess, Venus’ affinity for Earth can be mercurial.

[@Espartanica]

​@@chriswilliams2106It is accurate, that's what "on average" means.

[@eamonia]

I keep catching myself staring at this like a young child watching a magician for the first time. Laughing, smiling, holding my breath in anticipation. Space man, space... Ain't it somethin'?

[@prague5419]

An attitude like that makes the absolute best students when we do KSP classes for adults. Those are the same people that sit in awe, slack-jawed, buggy-eyed the first time they solo pilot a ship properly into Earth orbit and return home safely. As an instructor it makes me wowed and amazed over and over again as though it were the first for me as well. Always keep that wonder...it keeps you (and the rest of us) young.

[@yigalkatyusha]

indeed

[@eamonia]

@@prague5419 That's what you do!? Coooool... Thanks man. ...and always remember; "It's never too late to have a happy childhood." -Your Cousin Dimitri

[@jestice75]

Space isn't real.

[@charleebrown7188]

Yeah, man. Far out. What blows my mind is that they sent a probe to take pictures of a probe, taking pictures of Jupiter. Wait.......?

[@liammoran9402]

Would absolutely be interested in watching a video on the scientific findings from the MESSENGER mission! I thoroughly enjoyed this video and can’t wait for more great content like this!

[@bobino4646]

It's really amazing what these people's minds can accomplish. Also, you read my mind when you said "if you'd like to a video with the discoveries..." I was just thinking that. Great video

[@robertkrause3472]

The temperature is ok for cooking a turkey or steak, I think.

[@woolyhighlander7280]

Nope, Too Hot !

[@AgileChris.]

@@woolyhighlander7280 maybe he likes it well done 🤷

[@lukasmakarios4998]

I think he likes his meat "crispy"! LOL

[@a-10warthog72]

Go at night

[@strawberrymilkdarling7279]

@@lukasmakarios4998 Coal...he eats coal

[@jpiturri]

Never crossed my mind that Mercury is closer on average than Venus - makes sense being the closest planet to the Sun, hence closer to Earth on average.

[@Harish-ne4mh]

Mercury is closer on average for not only earth It is for every planet... Cgp grey covered this topic once

[@CraftyF0X]

@@Harish-ne4mh Yes, and its a weird and surprising fact which I took with skepticism for first, but once you think it through, and start to consider the bodies themselves moving on the orbits and not just looking at the orbits as references (and how it's an important point that this is true only for the avg. distance) it totally makes sense. At 0:39 if you pay a close attention you can understand it just going by this animation. A good example of how our assumptions - basic things we thought we knew ever since our childhood - needs to be revised every now and then :D

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

@@Harish-ne4mh "Gotta go fast!"

[@paulfaulconer2512]

The title was just a tad deceiving. Click bait I guess.

[@qltcn]

@@CraftyF0X some things in life need not to be explained too much, i think. Like mean value theorems in calculus for example. Overdone explanation kind of ruins the beaty. As if when you explain some jokes, they aren't funny anymore.

[@growlith6969]

Darn, that was an awesome video. Liked the pace and the depth of information served up in a way that was easy to take in without being bored. Great job!

[@Miata822]

Definitely interested to know what we learned about Mercury.

[@alfredkwok9239]

Yes, more video of Mercury is highly appreciated !

[@Gatazaf]

It is really amazing how pleasant it is to watch your videos!

[@KingfisherTalkingPictures]

Mercury is one of my favorite planets. I’d love to hear anything I can. I’d love to see a solar sail acting like a brake to help reach Mercury faster.

[@EagleSlightlyBetter]

great job. I didn't remember this mission and was on the edge of my seat hoping it would succeed!

[@utterlyperplexed8442]

You’ve got a great voice for these. Soothing. 😃

[@linsil164]

The soundtracks are so perfect to videos like this one.

[@screamlight1211]

Amazing knowing that humankind is on other planets forever. Like it crashed onto the surface of Mercury in 2015 and it'll be there until our Sun phases into its red giant form. Wow

[@levil3628]

Big chance that all noticeable parts melted

[@hadhamalnam]

@@levil3628 The ceramic sunshade might be able withstand the heat

[@levil3628]

@@hadhamalnam not when it is resting on the planet itself

[@PotatoMC1]

I love the names NASA gives to their missions

[@mikecimerian6913]

Computing the orbital mechanics for this mission is mindblowing.

[@semaj_5022]

Big yes on a video of the scientific findings of the Messenger mission! This was a fantastic video and I definitely want more on this subject

[@LukeBunyip]

Moar please 😉 👍

[@thecoolunclea.k.a.unclebea1158]

Science in a simple format. Thank you. Not for me but for ones who don't comprehend complex explanations

[@johnmurkwater1064]

Yep, I would definitely like to see another video dealing with the scientific findings. Please do it. 👍

[@bush.nawaz.t8385]

Yeah we need more info on the findings!

[@siavashkharasi3209]

Yeah we need more info on the findings!

[@5Andysalive]

search this very channel for mercury.

[@fairysox221]

Brilliant, please do another longer one with more pictures, as many as possible, and as much science info, any gold or diamonds, water or hydrogen, extinct volcanos, canyons anything would be great :)

[@its-my-life]

Mercurians: "Those homing missiles from the earthlings are very inefficient. They will be no match to us!"

[@Texas240]

Or, Those Earthlings just can't help but litter everywhere they go...

[@billsutherby]

@@Texas240 Lol. I'm just imagining them coming to Earth with the destroyed probe, all pissed off like when you were a kid and you hit your ball into the neighbor's yard and broke something.

[@3mpt7]

What took so long? We thought you were going to get colonies set up in the 80's. And no. Have you seen the size of our craters? Get real. Bob's living off the tourism. Real earthling space junk. First of its kind. Send more.

[@scooterbob4432]

Mercurian: I hate those arrogant and boastful Earthlings. Let’s keep them out!

[@cashwarior]

I'd love to see a series explaining some of the scientific equipment used on these missions, that way we can know how exactly they work and see how they were used in other missions.

[@GregoryTheGr8ster]

Congrats to Chen-wan Yen for devising a way to make a Mercury mission possible. What ingenuity! How many other orbits has he devised, I wonder?

[@petuniasevan]

SHE, actually. It's generally difficult to figure gender from Chinese naming conventions compared to Western naming conventions. I only know because of her fame at JPL. She was instrumental in developing the Voyager 2 "extended tour" that included Uranus and Neptune.

[@GregoryTheGr8ster]

@@petuniasevan OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD! How could I be so cruel to women? How could I perpetuate the patriarchy like I just did? I have sinned.

[@petuniasevan]

@@GregoryTheGr8ster LOL

[@HawthorneHillNaturePreserve]

Love this channel! I especially like the real photos and labels identifying what we are seeing.

[@dr.robertsmith1971]

Your seeing what they want you to see, fact is our minds can not conceive the actual view it is beyond our scope of understanding, go buy a 14 inch refractor scope, look at the closest star than look at NASA's star, completely different , the universe is literally alive , we are called the human experiment, created by beings so far advanced we can not even comprehend it, extreme ancient beings , that have no expiration date, and no beginning, our program is nearing the end game.

[@saadsarwar8123]

@@dr.robertsmith1971 Lay off the weeeeed

[@theyremykidstoo1642]

@@saadsarwar8123 That's not weed. That's a crazy person

[@lukesguywalker]

@@dr.robertsmith1971 what are you on about? 😕

[@jetpond7904]

@@dr.robertsmith1971 fucking knew I’d find a conspiracy theorist

[@djvphotography]

I am all for hearing everything available about Mercury. Bring it on.

[@dannyh5937]

Channels like this give me hope in KZbin and the internet

[@asheeboy]

Literally the best channel to fall asleep to, it’s always so relaxing!

[@PaulHipToBeSquareAllen]

Yes. I just wish they were a little longer. 20minutes would be perfect.

[@MuscarV2]

What a waste... Instead of actually learning about this you use it as sleeping aid.

[@PaulHipToBeSquareAllen]

@@MuscarV2 Turn it in Marky Mark, You’re talking out of Uranus.

[@johnsaxton5281]

I never knew Mercury was the closest planet to us on average. Here, I thought Venus was

[@jorgepeterbarton]

Yes me too but when you think about it venus will be on the opposite side of the sun and further away a lot of the time

[@sevensworld3603]

It doesn’t make sense

[@jetpond7904]

@@sevensworld3603 it does.

[@silentsteph2689]

Thank you ! I’m happy your channel was suggested!

[@tuneboyz5634]

yay yay happy :D

[@spotter113]

Looking forward to get more facts about Mercury, thanks

[@rjung_ch]

Hope we get more good science from Mercury. Thanks for your great videos each and every time!

[@MarcoPollo77]

Great script in this video. Nice story Alex.

[@bingus9984]

Mercury is pretty interesting, haven't heard much until now. It would be interesting to know more

[@carlopton]

More Mercury science information, what was found out, resolved, discovered, etc. Thank you.

[@jonmarkus9627]

yes please

[@arx3516]

The Messenger acronym is really smart, considering that Mercury/Hermes was the messenger of the gods!

[@SandeepGuneshwar]

The way you narrate its more like telling a stories. 👍 For Science behind Messenger

[@imedic31]

YES!!! We need to know more about Mercury!!! Love the videos, very informative without condescension. 5 Stars!!!

[@josepablolunasanchez1283]

To me, what is exciting is that finally it is possible that humanity may go places instead of just watch places.

[@jerryhouston5195]

I wish we could build a ground rover strong enough to withstand the pressure of landing on Venus; it is such an intriguing planet to me.

[@Skip2MeLou1]

It's cool that the Soviets were able to send back a couple of photos of the surface before the lander crunched. Edit: I just learned it also recorded sound during the landing

[@no_rubbernecking]

I'm certain we have such technology today. But, since colonization of the planet is not a priority, it isn't being deployed.

[@GR-bn3xj]

@@Skip2MeLou1 where there Amazons on Venus like on the movies?

[@xsigna1]

Uranus is an interesting planet to me

[@jerryhouston5195]

@@xsigna1 I agree! However I find all the gas giants and ice giants interesting! I wonder if they are stars that failed and the many moons were planets that would have been similar to our Sun and the surrounding planets.

[@JamieBainbridge]

Had no idea about this. Would love a detailed video of pretty much every mission lol. You're a great science communicator.

[@tgdomnemo5052]

Yes, PLEASE, dig deeper - great so far 🙏🏼

[@h2opower]

I'd say planet X is the hardest to visit as we can't even seem to actually find it.

[@TuNguyen-vu1cg]

Maybe it isn't existed, but if it is confirmed, it is very hard to visit it with current technology

[@titan-1802]

and considering the fact that its much more farther away from us, and trying to detect it would be very difficult

[@andersjjensen]

Planet X may, or may not, be accounted for by the combined mass of the Oort cloud. The jury is still out on that one.

[@scott19087]

Doesnt exist though

[@criticalloves]

Can you imagine how many particles had radiated its surface from our star. That is interesting to me.

[@manifold1476]

Can you count from zero to Avogadro's Number in one second? That's how fast one would have to count in order to name the electrons in a current flow of One Ampere. One Amp is not a "large" current flow, generally speaking, and one second doesn't last very long either, so it's not practical to think of 'numbers of particles' when describing planetary systems.

[@sunnyjim1355]

A fair few.

[@ontoya1]

@@manifold1476 He's taking about what that many particles hitting a planet's surface would do

[@AMAINE207]

@@manifold1476 Maybe he's saying that he wonders what the surface would be like, being that close to the sun.

[@criticalloves]

@@jojobaggins9224 sirrr you need to relax. You too hyper now

[@unicycle227]

Please do more on this mission! Thank you, great breakdown.

[@Mike-ii5zr]

Yes, I would like to hear more about the scientific findings. I love the theory that Mercury is the core of an ancient gas giant.

[@DavidDatura]

A video about Messenger’s science? Of course! 🙂👍

[@ajjivackovic1782]

KSP veterans know Moho is hard, figures it would be hard irl too

[@Lagul_4]

Moho is bad enough, but a few times I sent a rover to Mercury in RSS/RO, took five years off my lifespan from planning those Venus and Earth assists

[@MrJameslupien]

NUCLEAR ENGINES ALL THE THINGS!

[@ajjivackovic1782]

@@Lagul_4 Have you considered working for a non Kerbal Space Program?

[@Lagul_4]

@@ajjivackovic1782 Actually, I intend to attend a military academy and then later to apply to NASA's astronaut program through the military afterwards, funnily enough!

[@ajjivackovic1782]

@@Lagul_4 Damn, that's amazing! Best of luck to you Kerbonaught, future astronaught!

[@ernestolombardo5811]

"I hope you found value in this video"... what an elegant use of the English language. Yes, I would love to know more about Mercury, please!

[@George.Coleman]

Hardest because 1) It takes so much fuel to slow down your initial orbital velocity after leaving Earth meaning you need a big rocket. 2) You need to slingshot around Venus to keep 'falling' pretty much towards The Sun 3) Once you've reached Mercury you've built up so much speed from 'falling' and you've ran out of fuel on the initial stages of getting to this point so you can't slow down 4) Mercury has no atmosphere so there's no way to air brake like there is on a Mars/Earth/Venus re-entry so more reason you can't slow down 5) There's no single point on Mercury that doesn't end up getting scorched by the Sun so if you land there you can't build a permanent base, you have to keep moving which just isn't practical (you'd need a base to somehow make fuel for a return journey to Earth)

[@jerryricks2646]

I would like to see an entire video about the orbital mechanics of getting messenger into Mercury orbit to begin with.

[@SEELE-ONE]

-we are about to launch a new probe to an often-neglected planet! Mercury: finally! -meet New Horizons…! M: yes! -on its mission to Pluto! M: oh come on!!!!

[@takarocc]

I really enjoy the enthusiasm with which you speak, it makes this already quite fascinating topic feel adequately grandiose

[@sartajhanspal5604]

10:08 YES! Your way of explaining all these missions is outstanding. More videos please!

[@stigman4654]

Chen wan yen: i'm about to do a pro gamer move. Love your videos!

[@ashleypenn7845]

Perfect for our homeschool unit. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@stantonmccain7725]

this is so fucking cool, imagine the euphoria of working on this for a decade and how overwhelmingly successful it was.

[@oldcountryman2795]

Imagine if you knew how to use the shift key and how to express yourself without using the f-word.

[@ashleydolin4292]

@@oldcountryman2795 did someone hurt your little feelings? 😢

[@haroldinho9930]

0:14 is that Universe Sandbox2?

[@richardaitkenhead]

Another great video, one of the best channels on KZbin.

[@Sonofdonald2024]

Would love to have further videos on the mercury missions

[@katana164]

Love to know more about Mercury, thank you.

[@nigelbenn4642]

4:52 That's insane! That's a craft so dense it may as well be lead. 1.8m x 1.3m? But mass was over a metric ton? Nuts pure nuts.

[@evin1791]

We need more of this :)

[@stephenwise3635]

So Mercury is closer than Venus (on average), that I did not know. Cheers Astrum :)

[@bobdole3926]

Incorrect, on average Venus is closer. Mercury is just closer longer and not by much. Which is not how closer works.

[@SeverusVergiliusMaro]

Mercury is actually on average the closest planet to: Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune! I don’t remember where I learned this, but I promise it’s true!!

[@TheStrGzr-zq1qq]

As one other, great KZbinr (CGP) put it .. Our Mostest Closest Neighbor lol

[@schimanoman2817]

@@TheStrGzr-zq1qq damn, 55secs too late :D

[@bobdole3926]

@@SeverusVergiliusMaro Wrong, Venus is the closest when averaged over time to Earth. Mercury is just closer longer that is it.

[@beck645]

Extremely nice video. Beautiful graphics and a very easy to understand script. Your speech and speed are perfect. Top marks for a superb job. Truly outstanding work. I look forward to more of your videos.

[@robdyck1187]

I would like to know more. Specifically, I expect Mercury to have surface deposits of concentrated Gallium and Indium, two rare earth elements that have moderate melting temperatures. Surface of Mercury should be enough to melt them. Considering Mercury has 88 days of sunlight followed by 88 days of dark, these elements should be concentrated. They are necessary for the latest and most efficient solar panels on Earth, so are very valuable. One NASA scientist told me Messenger was not designed to look for these elements. Has the Japanese mission been designed to look for them? Please post more about the science results.

[@stricknine6130]

Yes please I would love to know more. Thanks for the video.

[@parson7260]

This channel is out of this world.

[@jeremymitzuk4055]

Wonderful, well done, and informative video. More on this subject and other Sol system videos would be great. Thank you!

[@SteveJB]

Learning about the scientific findings from the Mercury missions would be great.

[@maroofrahil7697]

Please do make a video about the findings of the mission. Thank you so much.

[@lambeausouth1]

Would like to know more about this mission!

[@samadhoosen6014]

This is really high quality content, well delivered, thank you