A NASA handout image dated 29 March 2011 and made available 30 March 2011 showing a general view of the surface of planet Mercury. The Messenger spacecraft has sent back itsfirst image of the planet Mercury since entering the orbit of the closest planet from the sun March 17, the US space agency NASA said. The photo showed a part of Mercury‘s surface that had notpreviously been glimpsed from space probes, the agency said. Messenger was scheduled 28 March to begin continuous global mapping of Mercury. EPA/NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory EDITORIAL USE ONLY
