http://kcur.org en http://kcur.org/post/messenger-probe-sends-back-new-data-mercury There's a small spacecraft called Messenger that's been orbiting the planet Mercury for a year. Today, at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, astronomers revealed what they've learned about the innermost planet in our solar system, and some of the new knowledge is puzzling.<p>Maria Zuber, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studied a large crater 900 miles across called Caloris.<p>"The northern half of Caloris has actually been uplifted so that it's actually higher than its rim," she says. Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:09:00 +0000 Joe Palca 14616 at http://kcur.org Messenger Probe Sends Back New Data From Mercury