NASA has selected 23 scientists for participation in the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) Mission. MESSENGER is on course to fly within 200 kilometers of Mercury on January 14, 2008 -- the first probe to pass by the planet in nearly 33 years -- and these Participating Scientists, along with the mission's existing team of engineers and scientists, will play critical roles in examining the images and data gathered during before, during, and immediately following that flyby.

"The breadth, scope, and creativity of the scientists selected is very encouraging," said Marilyn Lindstrom, NASA Program Scientist for the MESSENGER mission. "By directly participating in NASA's next mission to Mercury, these scientists will help bring us closer to the long-term objective of better understanding the innermost planet."

MESSENGER is the seventh mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The MESSENGER mission, spacecraft, and science instruments are focused on answering six key questions that will allow us to understand Mercury as a planet: Why is Mercury so dense? What is the geologic history of Mercury? What is the structure of Mercury's core? What is the nature of Mercury's magnetic field? What are the unusual materials at Mercury's poles? What volatiles are important at Mercury?

Each selected scientist will conduct science investigations addressing the broad science goals of the mission that can be addressed with the MESSENGER science payload. They will also join one or more of the MESSENGER discipline groups as new MESSENGER Science Team members.

The existing 23-member MESSENGER Science Team is divided into four Discipline Groups -- Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics, and Atmosphere and Magnetosphere -- with each Co-Investigator responsible for implementation of a particular part of the mission's science plan. The newly selected Participating Scientists are: