The planet Mercury remains shrouded in mystery.. We can't easily see this closest-to-the-sun planet because of its angle against the sun, according to space.com.

In 1974-75, Mariner 10 was able to map almost half of Mercury's sunny side, a crater-pocked and blistering hot surface.

Thanks to NASA's Messenger spacecraft, a lot more about Mercury is about to be unveiled -- including whether it has ice at its poles, as some scientists suspect.

Messenger is an acronym for the spacecraft's mission: MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging.

With the help of media specialist Christina Dorr of Hilliard's Ridgewood Elementary School, hundreds of teachers and thousands of students will, in the next few years, be able to study Mercury as Messenger flies by a couple of times and eventually settles into orbit.

Dorr was one of 14 teachers selected from a field of 130 applicants to undergo free training this summer to become a master teacher -- or teacher of teachers -- by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education in Washington, D.C.

"Space science and space travel have always been a fascination of mine. The possibility of learning what is beyond our small Earth and how it affects us has always fascinated me. I've always been a shuttle watcher and follower of the missions," Dorr said.

One of her heroes is Christa McAuliffe, the teacher selected to be the first from her profession to travel to space, but who died when the shuttle Challenger disintegrated after liftoff in 1986.

"Christa McAuliffe has always been an inspiration to me," Dorr said.

Dorr will advance space education with her feet firmly on the ground. Her task is to train 100 teachers per year at conferences and professional development sessions about how to present science lessons using Messenger as the focal point.

"This is a new and exciting area. It was a huge learning experience for me. This was a challenge. I'm a media specialist. I'm not a trained science teacher, but I do teach science (alongside) science teachers. I'm a specialist in information and computers," said Dorr, who holds a doctorate in education.

"There are a whole series of experiments called modulars that are on the Messenger Web site. Teachers can pull from those and modify them as they teach (grade-specific academic) indicators," Dorr said.

"A lot of the experiments have to do with Earth and its place and other planets' places in our solar system, and how studying other bodies can teach us about our own planet.

"One of the activities is to be able to pace out, by scale, what the solar system would be in distance to get an idea of how far away planets are from the sun and each other," she said.

Another computer modular deals with Mercury's extreme hot and cold temperatures and details experiments involving ice in cold temperatures.

It's really cold where the sun doesn't shine on Mercury "because the planet has very little tilt on its axis," said Dorr.

"They hope Messenger can see the poles and confirm whether ice is there."

Messenger was launched in 2004 and made its first flyby of Mercury in January. At that time, it sent NASA the first photos of the side of Mercury that can't be viewed from Earth.

Messenger will fly by again Oct. 6 and once more Sept. 29, 2009. Finally, on March 18, 2011, it will be in position to get caught by Mercury's gravitational pull and begin a year in orbit, Dorr said.

Among other things, the mission will spur study of Mercury's chemical composition after various measurements are taken.

A teacher for 19 years, Dorr said this year begins her 10th year with the Hilliard City School District. She has been based at Beacon and Alton Darby elementary schools, and when school starts Aug. 19, she will begin her second year at Ridgewood.

For more information about Messenger, visit the Web site messenger.jhuapl.edu.

"The possibility of learning what is beyond our small Earth and how it affects us has always fascinated me."

--Christina Dorr

Source: snponline.com