MESSENGER Mission presented to Russian Collegues

Graduate student Andreas Ritzer traveled to Krasnodar, Russia to give a presentation to Kuban State University about the current NASA mission to Mercury (MESSENGER). Andreas presented to a public audience that included the president of the university as well as some local children. A general overview of the MESSENGER mission was presented outlining the goals of the mission, its general design, and presented the results from the most recent flyby of the planet on January 14, 2008. The talk was given through an interpreter, as most of the Russian public did not speak English. The audience asked many questions after the presentation as it was very enthusiastically received.