Messenger Venus Flyby

Description:The MESSENGER flyby from the spacecraft’s view plus it’s trajectory and Venus Express orbit around Venus are shown in this animation, with tick marks every 30 minutes and a line-of-sight path (through no communication is possible) between each spacecraft. Notice how the MESSENGER spacecraft model becomes dimmer and how the line-of-sight between MESSENGER and Venus Express disappears as the spacecraft passes through solar eclipse (the shadow of Venus).

Credits: MESSENGER