50th Anniversary of Human Space Flight

     The 12th of April marked the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight. On that day in 1961 Yuri Gagarin, a soviet Military Pilot, became the first human to orbit the earth. This event had a lot of political implications, as it seemed the Russians would beat the Americans in the dominance of space. Previously the Russians had already put the first satellite, sputnik 1, and the first animal, a dog named Laika (literally translated means "Barker") . All of these victories to the Russians. were a major blow to the Americans and their pride. The Americans caught up soon, and ultimately won the race to dominate space in 1969 as Neil Armstrong stepped upon the moon.
Sincerely, Space Cadet

Update on the MESSENGER- found Mariner 10 spacecraft

The messenger team was surprised to notice a strange object in one of the photos that the Messenger spacecraft sent back today(April 1st). The image, first thought a imaging artifact, upon close examination was recognized as the Mariner 10. The Mariner was a space probe that was sent in 1973 to swing by mercury and take photos. The space probe visited mercury 3 times, then lost contact. It was not heard of until today. However, based upon its orbit it should not have been near mercury at this time. It is calculated that the space probe's orbit as altered by changes in solar radiation and multiple outgassing events by the residual propellant caused changes in the trajectory of the probe. It does not appear that the probe will be in the way of the messenger in the next few orbits.
Sourced:messenger.jhuapl.edu