PBS NewsHour

First Rock From the Sun: NASA Set to Explore Mercury's...

Clip: Season 2011 | 8m 16s

Imagine traveling to a planet where the sun is 11 times stronger than on Earth, the temperature can swing 1,100 degrees and you have to maintain contact with headquarters back on Earth. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports on NASA's tricky task of building a spacecraft to withstand the extreme environment on Mercury.

Aired: 03/16/11

Rating: NR

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