Mercury, via MESSENGER...

MESSENGER has now spent more than one Mercury year (88 Earth days) in orbit, doing solid science.  Recently it made an adjustment to its orbit, bringing its closest approach to just 200 km high.  Some recent imagery is at right (click to enlarge), in false color, via APOD.  By all reports, MESSENGER is doing exactly what its science team had hoped it would do, and all of its systems are (in NASA-speak) “nominal”.

Long-time readers would be disappointed if I didn't include here my usual rant about the effectiveness (and glory!) of unmanned space exploration, as compared to the utter waste and uselessness of the current and proposed manned space program...