Sending spacecraft to another planet is a pretty neat trick.  The number of disciplines that must work together perfectly to get a camera out to Mercury that can send back pictures to us is astounding and makes most of the technologies we invest in at Foundry Group look like child's play.  This shot of Mercury was taken yesterday from a distance of 470,000 miles.  Today, the craft passed within 124 miles of the planet, its closest approach.  I'm looking forward to seeing the images from Messenger's close-up with Mercury as soon as they are available.