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October 10, 2011
Hot blast
A solar wind is sandblasting the surface of Mercury at its poles, according to new data from a Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS) made by U-M scientists that is on board NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft. The FIPS has taken the first global measurements of Mercury’s exosphere and magnetosphere in an effort to better understand how the closest planet to the sun interacts with its fiery neighbor.