tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/messenger-16187/articlesMessenger – The Conversation2023-11-09T19:10:29Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2158792023-11-09T19:10:29Z2023-11-09T19:10:29ZOverwhelmed by group chat messages? You’re not alone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558215/original/file-20231108-21-zvban6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=67%2C252%2C5540%2C2900&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/man-using-his-smartphone-Lrfw0U_o9I0">Thom Holmes/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many of us, group chats are part of the texture of our social lives. These groups, formed on apps like Messenger or Whatsapp, can be as large as a hundred people or as small as three. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3427228.3427275">use them for</a> organising one-off tasks or events, managing recurring coordination between groups like sports clubs or work teams, and keeping in touch with <a href="https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/63509/taipalefarinosi.pdf?sequence=1">family</a> and friends. </p>
<p>In the best cases, group chats can provide important spaces for building and maintaining <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/25/4/274/5866390">relationships</a>. They can be places of joy, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13548565231153505">solidarity</a> and <a href="https://theoutline.com/post/2315/long-live-the-group-chat">refuge</a>. </p>
<p>But they can also be burdensome, and create feelings of anxiety and worry. I researched group chat dynamics and these are the three biggest issues I encountered. </p>
<h2>1. You’re overwhelmed by the volume of messages</h2>
<p>The volume of messages and notifications group chats generate can be overwhelming. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/25/4/274/5866390">my own research</a>, a participant recalled accidentally leaving her phone at home, and returning to find she’d missed 200 messages in a group chat about buying a birthday gift. </p>
<p>Another explained that their most active group chat kicked off at 8am and didn’t quiet down until 1am. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3427228.3427275">survey</a> of people in the United States and United Kingdom suggests this is a common problem, with 40% of the respondents indicating they were overwhelmed with group chat messages and notifications. And then there’s <a href="https://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Eoliveira/doc/MHCI2014_An-in-situ-study-of-mobile-phone-notifications.pdf">notifications</a> from email, social media, calendars, news apps, and so on. </p>
<p>People often manage this by muting group chats. But this can mean missing important information or plans to catch up, or having to dip in and out of the group chat to check for relevant conversations. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/say-what-how-to-improve-virtual-catch-ups-book-groups-and-wine-nights-134655">Say what? How to improve virtual catch-ups, book groups and wine nights</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>People can also find the chaos of group chat conversations overwhelming. In large groups, multiple conversations can be running at once, making it hard to keep track of what is being discussed or planned. </p>
<p>These problems can make group chats <a href="https://academic.oup.com/joc/article-abstract/66/5/834/4082414?login=false">ineffective</a> for the tasks they were set up to complete. Especially in large groups of acquaintances, planning can devolve into a mess of opinions, alternatives and side conversations. </p>
<p>One participant in my research described a group chat about a birthday gift getting sidetracked by two people having their own catch up. </p>
<p>Another recounted a disastrous group chat involving 20 people trying to organise a potluck dinner. Rather than reaching a consensus about who would bring what, the conversation devolved into a debate about whether potlucks were a bad idea, with one person insisting professional catering would better account for dietary requirements.</p>
<h2>2. You don’t want to be there – but can’t leave</h2>
<p>Other, possibly more significant, challenges are the difficult or awkward social dynamics that can arise. The ease of creating groups and adding members means people can be included in groups they wouldn’t have chosen to join. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://academic.oup.com/joc/article-abstract/66/5/834/4082414?login=false">one instance</a> of this, a woman was added to a group for organising a shared gift for a colleague. She would have preferred not to contribute to the gift but found it too awkward to leave. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman looks at phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C215%2C4341%2C2687&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sometimes it can feel like you’re lurking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-leaning-on-white-wooden-table-while-holding-black-android-smartphone-w3jVXGkYZCw">Kev Costello/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Challenging dynamics can also arise when relationships change after a group chat has been established. </p>
<p>One participant told me about a group chat started by four close friends when they began university. A year later, one person had grown distant and become largely silent in the group chat, although the other three still used it to chat and organise catch ups. My participant found this dynamic incredibly awkward and had become cautious about starting group chats as a result. </p>
<p>Other participants described feeling trapped in group chats they would prefer to leave. The blunt “x has left the group” notification made them reluctant to formally quit but ignoring the group was also uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Many of these challenges stem from the rigid membership of group chats (you’re either in or you’re out) which doesn’t always gel with the complexity of our relationships. These challenges may also be exacerbated by unclear or contested social etiquette around group messaging.</p>
<h2>3. You feel excluded</h2>
<p>The most difficult issues arise when processes of social exclusion play out in group chats. </p>
<p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/25/4/274/5866390">Back channel groups</a> can emerge, where some group members create a new group to privately communicate about what’s happening in the main chat. </p>
<p>In the most dramatic cases, participants described people getting kicked out of groups because of disagreements or because someone felt the group chat had become too large.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/research-check-is-it-true-only-half-your-friends-actually-like-you-63763">Research Check: is it true only half your friends actually like you?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3427228.3427275">Research</a> suggests that being removed from a group is rare and mostly occurs when a relationship has ended. </p>
<p>But guessing whether you’ve been excluded from a group chat can be cause for anxiety, especially because you might not just be missing out on gossip and cat videos but also plans to catch up in person. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Person opens Whatsapp on their smartphone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Being removed from a group is rare, but users still worry about being excluded.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/person-holding-black-android-smartphone-ynJaWgrwSlM">Dimitri Karastelev/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So what can you do?</h2>
<p>Our relationships with each other can be weird, awkward and messy – group chats reflect this social reality but with an added layer of technological complexity thrown in. </p>
<p>Generally, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/joc/article-abstract/66/5/834/4082414?login=false">research</a> suggests that the group chats people enjoy most are smaller groups with closer friends. </p>
<p>So, until app design improves and we collectively figure out etiquette for awkward group chat moments, your best bets are to: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>use group chats with a handful of people who know each other, or who you’re confident will get along </p></li>
<li><p>find another way of organising that potluck. Use other forms of organisation for more complex events or with larger groups (invitations, Facebook events or one-on-one texts)</p></li>
<li><p>mute those crazy chats if you’re struggling with distraction or aren’t that interested. Muting is common and increasingly expected. If the chat is often used for organising things you don’t want to miss, let someone in the group know so they can keep you posted or make a routine of checking in </p></li>
<li><p>if you’re feeling weird about some group chat social dynamics, raise it with the person in the group you know best. We can make lots of assumptions about what other people’s messaging behaviours mean but the lack of extra social cues mean our assumptions can be off. That person might not be avoiding you – they might just have the chat muted! </p></li>
</ul>
<p><em>The Conversation is commissioning articles by academics across the world who are researching how society is being shaped by our digital interactions with each other. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/social-media-and-society-125586">Read more here</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Mannell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Group chats can be places of joy, solidarity and refuge. But they can also be a huge time-suck, and create feelings of anxiety and worry.Kate Mannell, Research Fellow in Digital Childhoods, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1627252021-06-21T18:03:06Z2021-06-21T18:03:06ZPrivate messages contribute to the spread of COVID-19 conspiracies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407461/original/file-20210621-35190-1rltdtt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C4493%2C2775&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Private messaging apps allow information to spread in an unchecked manner.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 global pandemic has been accompanied by misinformation about the virus, its origins and how it spreads. </p>
<p>One in seven Canadians <a href="https://www.cybersecurepolicy.ca/private-messages-public-harms">thinks there is some truth</a> to the claim that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/04/19/bill-gates-is-now-a-target-of-covid-19-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories/">Bill Gates is using the coronavirus to push a vaccine with a microchip capable of tracking people</a>. Those who believe this and other COVID-19 conspiracy theories are <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/fr/magazines/july-2020/who-believes-in-covid-19-conspiracies-and-why-it-matters/">much more likely to get their news</a> from social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter. </p>
<p>In extreme cases, conspiracy thinking spurred by online disinformation can result in hate-fuelled violence, as we saw in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/12/us/capitol-mob-timeline.html">the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol</a>, <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quebec-city-mosque-shooting">the Québec City mosque shooting</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/what-is-an-incel-toronto-van-attack-explainer-alek-minassian-1.4633893">the Toronto van attack</a> and <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2020/07/11/accused-in-rideau-hall-gun-incident-has-long-history-of-being-drawn-to-conspiracy-websites.html">the incident in 2020 where an armed man crashed his truck through the gates of Rideau Hall</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-are-dangerous-heres-how-to-stop-them-spreading-136564">Coronavirus conspiracy theories are dangerous – here's how to stop them spreading</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Moderate content</h2>
<p>These and other events have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-01107-z">placed pressure on social media platforms to label, remove and slow the spread of harmful, publicly viewable content</a>. As a result of implemented responses to the spread of misinformation, Donald Trump was <a href="https://www.cigionline.org/articles/trump-deplatforming-distraction-0/">deplatformed during the final weeks of his presidency</a>. </p>
<p>These discussions on content moderation have mainly centred around platforms where content is generally open and accessible to view, comment on and share. But what’s happening in those online spaces that aren’t open for all to see? It’s much harder to say. And perhaps not surprisingly, conspiracy theories are spreading on private messaging apps, like WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger and WeChat, to spread harm.</p>
<p>By leveraging large groups of users and long chains of forwarded messages, false information <a href="https://firstdraftnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Comprova-Full-Report-Final.pdf?x79527">can still go viral</a> on private platforms. </p>
<p>White nationalists and other extremist groups are trying to <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2019/08/telegram-white-nationalists-el-paso-shooting-facebook.html">use messaging apps to organize</a>, and malicious hackers are using private messages <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-phishing-how-to-protect-yourself-from-scam-emails-and-more/">to conduct cybercrime</a>. False stories spreading on messaging apps have also led to real-world violence, as happened <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4333499/india-whatsapp-lynchings-child-kidnappers-fake-news/">in India</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/technology/coronavirus-5g-uk.html">the United Kingdom</a>.</p>
<h2>Trust and private communication</h2>
<p>We conducted a <a href="https://www.cybersecurepolicy.ca/private-messages-public-harms">survey of 2,500 Canadian residents in March 2021</a> and found that they’re increasingly using private messaging platforms to get their news. </p>
<p>Overall, 21 per cent said that they rely on private messages for news — up from 11 per cent in 2019. We also found that people who regularly receive their news through messaging apps are more likely to believe COVID-19 conspiracy theories, including the false claim that vaccines include microchips.</p>
<p>There is a level of intimacy in private messaging apps that’s different from news viewed on social media feeds or other platforms, with content shared directly by people we often know and trust. A majority of Canadians reported that they had a similar level of trust in the news they receive on private messaging apps as they do in the news from TV or news websites.</p>
<p>Our research also uncovered a uniquely Canadian phenomenon. As a multicultural society with many newcomers, the Canadian private messaging landscape is remarkably diverse. For example, people who have arrived in Canada in the last 10 years were more than twice as likely to use WhatsApp. Similarly, newcomers from China were five times more likely to use WeChat. </p>
<p>We also found that half of Canadians receive messages that they suspect are false at least a few times per month, and that one in four receive messages with hate speech at least monthly. These rates were <a href="https://www.crrf-fcrr.ca/en/news-a-events/media-releases/item/27349-poll-demonstrates-support-for-strong-social-media-regulations-to-prevent-online-hate-and-racism">higher among people of colour</a>. Because different apps provide different ways of spreading and mitigating harmful content, each requires a tailored strategy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graph showing the self-reported frequency of receiving harmful private messages" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406789/original/file-20210616-23-cpqmpe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406789/original/file-20210616-23-cpqmpe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406789/original/file-20210616-23-cpqmpe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406789/original/file-20210616-23-cpqmpe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406789/original/file-20210616-23-cpqmpe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406789/original/file-20210616-23-cpqmpe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406789/original/file-20210616-23-cpqmpe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A graph showing the self-reported frequency of receiving harmful private messages in a representative survey of Canadian residents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Cybersecure Policy Exchange, Ryerson University)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mitigating harm</h2>
<p>Platforms and governments around the world are grappling with the tension between mitigating online harms and protecting the democratic values of free expression and privacy, particularly among more private modes of communication. This tension is only exacerbated by some platforms’ use of <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/whatsapp-india-traceability-encryption/">privacy-preserving end-to-end encryption that ensures only the sender and receiver can read the messages</a>.</p>
<p>Some messaging apps have been experimenting with how to reduce the spread of harmful materials, including the introduction of limits on group sizes and on the number of times a message can be forwarded. WhatsApp is now testing a feature that <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/fake-news-new-feature-in-whatsapp-will-allow-google-search-check-authenticity-of-messages/1903625/">nudges users to verify the source of highly forwarded messages by linking to a Google search of the message content</a>. Some experts are also <a href="https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/whatsapp-doesnt-have-to-break-encryption-to-beat-fake-news.php">advancing the idea</a> of adding warning labels to false news shared in messages — a concept that a majority (54 per cent) of Canadians supported when we described the idea.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Infographic showing WhatsApp, WeChat, Signal, Viber, Facebook Messenger and Telegram's use by Canadians" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406797/original/file-20210616-13-183hpkl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406797/original/file-20210616-13-183hpkl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406797/original/file-20210616-13-183hpkl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406797/original/file-20210616-13-183hpkl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406797/original/file-20210616-13-183hpkl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406797/original/file-20210616-13-183hpkl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406797/original/file-20210616-13-183hpkl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some examples of private messaging app features that could reduce harms, such as group size or message forwarding limits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Cybersecure Policy Exchange, Ryerson University)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, there is certainly more that governments can do in this quickly moving area. More transparency is required from messaging platforms about how they’re responding to user reports of harmful material and what approaches they’re using to stall the spread of these messages. Governments can also support digital literacy efforts and invest in research about harms through private messaging in Canada.</p>
<p>As Canadians shift to more private modes of communication, policy needs to keep up to maintain a vibrant and cohesive democracy in Canada while protecting free expression and privacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sam Andrey received funding from the Government of Canada through the Privy Council Office’s Democratic Institutions Secretariat and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for this research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Rand received funding from the Government of Canada through the Privy Council Office’s Democratic Institutions Secretariat and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for this research.</span></em></p>Canadians are increasingly turning to private messaging apps where COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories spread in an unregulated manner.Sam Andrey, Director of Policy & Research, Ryerson Leadership Lab, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityAlex Rand, Research Assistant on Technology, Cybersecurity & Democracy, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1287822019-12-16T05:24:02Z2019-12-16T05:24:02ZFacebook’s push for end-to-end encryption is good news for user privacy, as well as terrorists and paedophiles<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307065/original/file-20191216-124004-1zmrcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C80%2C4270%2C2910&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Facebook's initiative places the company in a complicated situation, as increased user privacy, while positive, could come with potential impunity for offenders. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SHUTTERSTOCK</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Facebook is <a href="https://thenextweb.com/facebook/2019/10/31/facebook-is-testing-end-to-end-encryption-for-secret-messenger-calls/">planning end-to-end encryption on all its messaging services</a> to increase privacy levels. </p>
<p>The tech giant started <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/25/18197222/facebook-messenger-instagram-end-to-end-encryption-feature-zuckerberg">experimenting</a> with this <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/mark-zuckerberg/a-privacy-focused-vision-for-social-networking/10156700570096634/">earlier this year</a>. Soon, end-to-end encryption will be standard for every Facebook message. </p>
<p>But Australian, British and United States governments and <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/tech/facebook-wants-to-expand-encryption-across-all-its-platforms-but-lawmakers-are-wary-2376161.html">law makers</a> aren’t <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/encryption-can-t-put-tech-giants-beyond-the-reach-of-the-law-minister-says-20191211-p53ize.html">happy about it</a>. They fear it will make it impossible to recover criminal conversations from Facebook’s platforms, thus offering impunity to offenders. </p>
<p>For instance, this was a major concern following <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/khalid-masood-whatsapp-westminster-london-attack-parliament-message-isis-terror-network-contacts-a7649206.html">the 2017 London terror attacks</a>. Attackers used WhatsApp (Facebook’s end-to-end encrypted platform), and this frustrated police investigations.</p>
<p>But does Facebook’s initiative place the company between a political rock and an ethical hard place?</p>
<h2>What is end-to-end encryption?</h2>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-to-end_encryption">End-to-end encryption</a> is a method of communicating more securely, compared to non-encrypted communications. </p>
<p>It involves using encryption (via cryptographic keys) that excludes third parties from accessing content shared between communicating users. </p>
<p>When the sender wants to communicate with the receiver, they share a unique <a href="https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/encryption">algorithmic key to decrypt</a> the message. No one else can access it, not even the service provider.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/social-media-and-crime-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-66397">Social media and crime: the good, the bad and the ugly</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The real incentive</h2>
<p>Facebook’s plan to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/10/06/is-facebooks-new-encryption-fight-hiding-a-ruthless-secret-agenda/#6ec67b3b5699">enact this change is paradoxical</a>, considering the company has a history of <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/jmjcila31&div=20&g_sent=1&casa_token=9vXpTPHtJw8AAAAA:B6FRTbg2DmAm5BkVzfidBoBgvSwEM6DcOepLuWUbEM-4ICx8U5kUPS7496BddNrArud0rRPh">harvesting user data</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/why-you-should-delete-facebook-messenger-2018-4?r=US&IR=T">selling it to third parties</a>. </p>
<p>Now, it supposedly wants to protect the privacy of the same users.</p>
<p>One possible reason Facebook is pushing for this development is because it will solve many of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/10/06/is-facebooks-new-encryption-fight-hiding-a-ruthless-secret-agenda/#6ec67b3b5699">its legal woes</a>. </p>
<p>With end-to-end encryption, the company will no longer have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backdoor_(computing)">backdoor</a> access to users’ messages. </p>
<p>Thus, it won’t be forced to comply with requests from law enforcement agencies to access data. And even if police were able to get hold of the data, they would still need the key required to read the messages. </p>
<p>Only users would have the ability to share the key (or messages) with law enforcement.</p>
<h2>Points in favour</h2>
<p>Implementing end-to-end encryption will positively impact Facebook users’ privacy, as their messages will be protected from eavesdropping. </p>
<p>This means Facebook, law enforcement agencies and hackers will find it harder to intercept any communication done through the platform. </p>
<p>And although end-to-end encryption is arguably not necessary for most everyday conversations, it does have <a href="https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/soups2016/way_2016_paper_vaziripour.pdf">advantages</a>, including: </p>
<p>1) protecting users’ personal and financial information, such as transactions on Facebook Marketplace </p>
<p>2) increasing trust and cooperation between users </p>
<p>3) preventing criminals eavesdropping on individuals to harvest their information, which can render them victim to <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/beware-of-these-11-facebook-scams-1947431">stalking, scamming and romance frauds</a></p>
<p>4) allowing those with sensitive medical, political or sexual information to be able to share it with others online</p>
<p>5) enabling journalists and intelligence agencies to communicate privately with sources.</p>
<h2>Not foolproof</h2>
<p>However, even though end-to-end encryption will increase users’ privacy in certain situations, it may still not be enough to make conversations completely safe.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/end-to-end-encryption-isnt-enough-security-for-real-people-82054">End-to-end encryption isn't enough security for 'real people'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This is because the biggest threat to eavesdropping is the very act of using a device. </p>
<p>End-to-end encryption doesn’t <a href="https://medium.com/@BlackwaveLtd/end-to-end-encryption-is-not-secure-without-proper-authentication-67bfa3c8108">guarantee</a> the people we are talking to online are who they say they are. </p>
<p>Also, while cryptographic algorithms are hard to crack, third parties can still <a href="https://www.us-cert.gov/bsi/articles/knowledge/principles/securing-the-weakest-link">obtain the key to open the message</a>. For example, this can be done by using apps to <a href="https://recon.meddle.mobi/papers/panoptispy18pets.pdf">take screenshots</a> of a conversation, and sending them to third parties.</p>
<h2>A benefit for criminals</h2>
<p>When Facebook messages become end-to-end encrypted, it will be <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0150300#pone.0150300.ref009">harder to detect criminals</a>, including people who use the platform to commit <a href="http://milwaukeenns.org/2014/05/21/special-report-diploma-mill-scams-continue-to-plague-milwaukees-adult-students">scams</a> and launch <a href="https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2014/05/27/instant-messaging-trojan-spreads-through-the-uk/">malware</a>.</p>
<p>Others use Facebook <a href="https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-cracks-down-on-illegal-racket-on-selling-housemaids-using-app-1.1572855473783">for human</a> or sex trafficking, as well as <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/jacksonville-man-sentenced-child-pornography-case">child grooming</a> and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/facebook-must-pick-a-side-in-fight-against-online-child-sex-abuse-dutton-20191004-p52xnw.html">exploitation</a>.</p>
<p>Facebook Messenger can also help <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3005872">criminals organise themselves</a>, as well as plan and carry out crimes, including terror attacks and cyber-enabled fraud extortion hacks.</p>
<p>The unfortunate <a href="https://philpapers.org/rec/ORRRSA-2">trade-off</a> in <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=xpsA2Cq997wC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=increasing+privacy+surveillance+internet&ots=nSKCdoaLWu&sig=IIRuxqn5731sXp8A989Vyl9Ef00&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=increasing%20privacy%20surveillance%20internet&f=false">increasing user privacy</a> is reducing the capacity for surveillance and national security efforts. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-photos-on-social-media-lead-to-mistaken-identity-in-court-cases-63887">Can photos on social media lead to mistaken identity in court cases?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>End-to-end encryption on Facebook would also increase criminals’ feeling of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563217305812">security</a>. </p>
<p>However, although tech companies can’t deny the risk of having their technologies exploited for illegal purposes – they also don’t have a <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/australias-tech-future/cyber-security/what-is-the-government-doing-in-cyber-security">complete duty to keep a particular country’s cyberspace safe</a>. </p>
<h2>What to do?</h2>
<p>A potential solution to the dilemma can be found in various <a href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/3427019/the-snoopers-charter-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-investigatory-powers-act.html">critiques</a> of the <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2016-2017/0066/17066.pdf">UK’s 2016 Investigatory Powers Act</a>. </p>
<p>It proposes that, on certain occasions, a communications service provider may be asked to remove encryption (where possible). </p>
<p>However, this power must come from an authority that <a href="https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/25714">can be held accountable</a> in court for its actions, and this should be used as a last resort. </p>
<p>In doing so, encryption will increase user privacy without allowing total privacy, which carries <a href="https://guardtime.com/blog/6-reasons-why-encryption-isnt-working">harmful consequences</a>. </p>
<p>So far, several governments have pushed back against Facebook’s encryption plans, fearing it will place <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/encryption-can-t-put-tech-giants-beyond-the-reach-of-the-law-minister-says-20191211-p53ize.html">the company and its users beyond their reach</a>, and make it more difficult to <a href="https://www.occrp.org/en/61-ccblog/8822-encryption-a-godsend-to-all-who-seek-privacy-even-criminals">catch criminals</a>. </p>
<p>End-to-end encryption is perceived as a bulwark for surveillance by third parties and governments, despite <a href="https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/ethics-of-surveillance/tech_wiretapping.html">other ways of intercepting communications</a>.</p>
<p>Many also agree surveillance is not only <a href="https://www.alrc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/119_org_pirate_party_australia.pdf">invasive, but also prone to abuse</a> by governments and third parties. </p>
<p>Freedom from invasive surveillance also <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomOpinion/Pages/CallForSubmission.aspx">facilitates freedom of expression</a>, opinion and privacy, as observed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. </p>
<p>In a world where debate is polarised by social media, Facebook and similar platforms are caught amid the politics of security. </p>
<p>It’s hard to say how a perfect balance can be achieved in such a multifactorial dilemma. </p>
<p>Either way, the decision is a political one, and governments - as opposed to tech companies - should ultimately be responsible for such decisions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128782/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roberto Musotto is affiliated with the Cyber Security Research Cooperative Centre (CSCRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David S. Wall receives funding from the EPSRC (CRiTiCal & EMPHASIS Projects)</span></em></p>Facebook is planning to put end-to-end encryption on all its messaging services soon. But governments aren’t happy about it, as it could make it harder to catch criminals.Roberto Musotto, Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre Postdoctoral Fellow, Edith Cowan UniversityDavid S. Wall, Professor of Criminology, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/888572017-12-11T19:14:33Z2017-12-11T19:14:33ZFacebook’s new Messenger Kids app could be good for digital literacy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198444/original/file-20171211-27686-13teiaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Facebook's Messenger Kids has sparked debate about what age children should be using messaging apps.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/minsk-belarus-january-3-2017-boy-547520305">Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Facebook is trialling a new <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/12/introducing-messenger-kids-a-new-app-for-families-to-connect/">Messenger Kids</a> app in the United States. </p>
<p>The standalone app is aimed at under-13s, who aren’t currently eligible for a normal Facebook account. Parents are responsible for setting up the account and approving any contacts their children add. Kids can then use the app to video chat – both one-on-one or in a group – and send photos, videos and text messages. Currently only available in the US on Apple devices, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenchaykowski/2017/12/04/facebook-debuts-new-messenger-app-thats-only-for-kids/#40cd4309722c">Facebook expects to extend it to a wider audience in the coming months</a>.</p>
<p>In the week since the app launched, headlines have focused on its potential downsides, amid concerns about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/10/data-hungry-facebook-seeks-younger-recruits-messenger-kids">data privacy</a>, <a href="https://quartzy.qz.com/1148385/why-i-wont-let-my-children-near-facebooks-messenger-for-kids/">tech addiction</a> and <a href="https://www.thriveglobal.com/stories/18263-facebook-s-messenger-app-just-for-kids-raises-a-lot-of-questions">kids’ well-being</a>.</p>
<p>But I argue that there is another side to this story: the fact that teaching kids about messaging at a young age is essential to preparing them for the hyper-connected world they will need to navigate in the future.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scare-mongering-about-kids-and-social-media-helps-no-one-44902">Scare-mongering about kids and social media helps no-one</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>It’s already happening</h2>
<p>At the moment, there is relatively little research in Australia about toddlers’ and children’s use of digital technologies. But <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/650933/Literature_Review_Final_October_2017.pdf">studies in the UK</a> and <a href="http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/1024/0">emerging Australian studies</a> suggest that kids are going online at ever earlier ages, and doing a much wider range of activities. </p>
<p>Children younger than 13 are already <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-28/social-media-stats/8660192">using social media</a>, and messaging functionality is increasingly built into the “communicative ecology” of families. </p>
<p>On a recent overseas work trip, I shared photos and messages with my nine-year-old daughter via her dad’s Facebook Messenger account. Like most kids her age in Australia, she <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-15/children-now-spend-more-time-online-than-watching-tv/8272708">has daily access to a mobile phone or tablet</a>.</p>
<p>And like the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0">average Australian household</a> with children younger than 15, we have seven internet-enabled devices in our home. But we don’t have a landline, so web apps, including social messaging apps, are becoming more central to our family communication. </p>
<p>Messaging is also embedded in multi-player games used by older children, such as Minecraft and Clash of Clans. </p>
<p>There are both <a href="http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/video_games.html">challenges and benefits</a> associated with kids connecting with others via games and apps, but the functionality is not going to go away. Learning how to navigate social media together is now a key feature of childhood and parenting. </p>
<h2>Messaging can be good for kids</h2>
<p>The Facebook app is an interesting innovation in the social media space precisely because it promotes learning about and using social media together with kids. The focus is on developing online skills by supporting communication with known relatives and friends, because kids can only connect with parent-approved contacts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198464/original/file-20171211-27674-1uccv3e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198464/original/file-20171211-27674-1uccv3e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198464/original/file-20171211-27674-1uccv3e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198464/original/file-20171211-27674-1uccv3e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198464/original/file-20171211-27674-1uccv3e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198464/original/file-20171211-27674-1uccv3e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198464/original/file-20171211-27674-1uccv3e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198464/original/file-20171211-27674-1uccv3e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The app has parental controls built into its functionality that allow parents to approve contacts through their main Facebook app.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/12/introducing-messenger-kids-a-new-app-for-families-to-connect/">Facebook</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As leading kids and tech commentator <a href="https://www.netfamilynews.org/">Anne Collier has written</a>, the most significant thing about the app is that while it has plenty of parental controls built into it, the app itself is not actually a parental control tool. Rather, it is a service that kids and their families and friends will need to learn to use - and use well - together.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/text-messaging-isnt-like-ruining-young-peoples-grammar-28145">Text-messaging isn’t, like, ruining young people’s grammar</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/11803/1/Intergenerational-Attitudes-Towards-Social-Networking-and-Cybersafety.pdf">Evidence already exists</a> to show that social media can be good for mental health, building friendships, and resilience. </p>
<p>The app will evolve over time as kids and parents use it. What is important is that parents do not become complacent about the app as a “silver bullet” solution to educating children about the internet. Rather, we need to see it as just one tool to foster healthy, respectful relationships with our kids, and learn through the technology. </p>
<h2>Bullying and data privacy</h2>
<p>For now the Facebook Messenger Kids app features no ads, in-app purchases or sharing of data with other apps on the same device. But as with all websites and apps, this one will be fallible. Learning to think about what we share and how we share it (just like when you meet someone in a park) will still be important on this app.</p>
<p>Bullying can happen anywhere and it is possible – <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-parents-and-teens-can-reduce-the-impact-of-social-media-on-youth-well-being-87619">as we’ve seen before</a> – that the app could extend bullying beyond the schoolyard. But all contacts in the app must be pre-approved by parents, and it has reporting features with pop-up feedback, dedicated content moderation, and notifications to parent Facebook accounts. Those features should enable parents to stay better abreast of how kids are using it. Unlike Snapchat and other apps, content can’t be deleted. This will also help kids and parents review communication, and take necessary steps if someone is being mean or harassing.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/screen-time-is-about-more-than-setting-limits-79538">'Screen time' is about more than setting limits</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are <a href="https://zephoria.com/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/">more than 2 billion Facebook users</a> worldwide, and the chances are that our kids will soon add to those statistics. Facebook and other major platforms should be part of a broader effort to help kids and parents learn how to communicate safely and respectfully in a world saturated with social media. </p>
<p>And we should all develop critical digital literacy skills by <a href="https://theconversation.com/sorry-everyone-on-the-internet-youre-always-the-product-77235">learning about who is behind the apps and platforms we use, and what happens to our information and data</a>. If using the Facebook Messenger Kids app helps to promote these conversations, that is a very good thing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philippa Collin has received funding from the Australian Research Council, Google Australia/NZ and other government departments. However, the views expressed here are her own. </span></em></p>Many parents are fearful about their children being online. Messaging services for children could help both kids and parents learn how to communicate safely and respectfully in the digital space.Philippa Collin, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/441582015-07-15T05:22:46Z2015-07-15T05:22:46ZFrom comets to planets near and far, space probes reveal the universe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88370/original/image-20150714-21701-xe0wt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://solarviews.com/cap/vss/VSS00041.htm">NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If space is humankind’s ultimate challenge, then the first step starts close to home – we have still to explore much of our solar system that spans across enormous distances, never mind those galaxies and stars more distant still. </p>
<p>To learn more we must get closer, dispatching spacecraft such as New Horizons – which has <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33524589">just returned our first ever close-up images of Pluto</a> after a nine year journey. Here are my top five missions that are chipping away at what we don’t know and building up a better sense of universe around us.</p>
<h2>1. New Horizons</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88373/original/image-20150714-21719-1dnittw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88373/original/image-20150714-21719-1dnittw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88373/original/image-20150714-21719-1dnittw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88373/original/image-20150714-21719-1dnittw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88373/original/image-20150714-21719-1dnittw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88373/original/image-20150714-21719-1dnittw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88373/original/image-20150714-21719-1dnittw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88373/original/image-20150714-21719-1dnittw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Time for your close-up, Pluto.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?gallery_id=2&image_id=222">NASA/JHU APL/SwRI</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rocketing past at 14km/s, the New Horizons spacecraft has provided our first close view of Pluto which will enormously improve our understanding of this distant body. Our facts regarding this icy dwarf are sketchy at best. Just knowing what Pluto looks like makes it much more real.</p>
<p>The probe’s brief two-hour visit captured images of parts of Pluto and its largest moon Charon at high resolution, improving our understanding of planet formation. This is an amazing feat, considering the signals take more than 4.5 hours to reach Earth and that the sun is so weak at this extreme distance that solar power is not an option. </p>
<p>But the mission doesn’t end here: in 2019 New Horizons will visit a small object in the Kuiper belt, a region of space filled with small rocky planetoids, giving us a chance to examine the make-up of these remnants of the early solar system. And by 2026, it will reach the outer edges of the solar system. </p>
<h2>2. Rosetta</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87345/original/image-20150703-20478-13i4cyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87345/original/image-20150703-20478-13i4cyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87345/original/image-20150703-20478-13i4cyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87345/original/image-20150703-20478-13i4cyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87345/original/image-20150703-20478-13i4cyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87345/original/image-20150703-20478-13i4cyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87345/original/image-20150703-20478-13i4cyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as seen from Rosetta 20km above.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/12/Comet_on_10_December_2014_NavCam">ESA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Conceived decades ago, Rosetta flew alone through space for years before it reached the tiny comet that was its target and swung into orbit around it. Given the comet’s highly irregular shape this is an outstanding feat by itself.</p>
<p>The lander Philae managed to touch down and collect surface data of the comet, and while it was forced to shut down from lack of sunlight falling on its solar panels, it has now awoken and is transmitting data again. The Rosetta orbiter mission has also been extended to 2016 when it will also attempt to land on the comet.</p>
<p>The missions have improved our understanding of comets which contain <a href="http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/06/24/exposed-water-ice-detected-on-comets-surface/">frozen, icy rocks</a>, and have measured the <a href="http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/06/02/ultraviolet-study-reveals-surprises-in-comet-coma">gas composition of jets streaming off the comet</a> before they are altered by solar radiation.</p>
<p>But more than just hard numbers, this mission has been capturing images that speak for themselves, showing an ambitious mission conceived by many nations working together. Images such as Rosetta’s pictures of Philae descending resonates with us more than just hard facts and figures.</p>
<h2>3. Dawn</h2>
<p>Dawn is another mission expanding our knowledge of dwarf planets, in this case Ceres. It is now orbiting this interesting object having spent 2011 conducting similar work around nearby Vesta. Both Vesta and Ceres in the asteroid belt are protoplanets but of quite different composition.</p>
<p>Dawn has illustrated how powerful imagery can be. The most intriguing image is a crater that contains a <a href="http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news-detail.html?id=4633">handful of bright white spots</a> on a surface otherwise darker than coal – unexpected, unexplored, challenging terrain.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87351/original/image-20150703-20462-1tdeqzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87351/original/image-20150703-20462-1tdeqzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87351/original/image-20150703-20462-1tdeqzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87351/original/image-20150703-20462-1tdeqzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87351/original/image-20150703-20462-1tdeqzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87351/original/image-20150703-20462-1tdeqzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87351/original/image-20150703-20462-1tdeqzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What is the bright spot on the surface of Ceres? Dawn will find out.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news-detail.html?id=4619">NASA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Messenger</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88366/original/image-20150714-21701-nnpb7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88366/original/image-20150714-21701-nnpb7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88366/original/image-20150714-21701-nnpb7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88366/original/image-20150714-21701-nnpb7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88366/original/image-20150714-21701-nnpb7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88366/original/image-20150714-21701-nnpb7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88366/original/image-20150714-21701-nnpb7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Incredibly detailed images from Messenger’s visit to Mercury.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PIA19419-Mercury-Messenger-MASCS-20150416.jpg">NASA/JHU APL/Carnegie Institution of Washington</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Messenger is still in my list of impressive space probes even though the mission ended with its controlled crash on Mercury’s surface this April. Sent to explore a planet of which we had barely any imagery of its surface, in four years Messenger managed to not only give us high-resolution maps of the innermost planet, it <a href="http://www.space.com/29281-messenger-spacecraft-mercury-crash.html">discovered water in its dark polar craters</a>. On a planet baked by the sun this could only arrive from comets and water-rich asteroids – objects currently under investigation by Rosetta and New Horizons.</p>
<h2>5. Curiosity</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88368/original/image-20150714-21701-bgp637.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88368/original/image-20150714-21701-bgp637.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88368/original/image-20150714-21701-bgp637.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88368/original/image-20150714-21701-bgp637.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88368/original/image-20150714-21701-bgp637.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88368/original/image-20150714-21701-bgp637.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88368/original/image-20150714-21701-bgp637.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Curiosity Rover’s famous off-world self-portrait from Mars.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PIA16239_High-Resolution_Self-Portrait_by_Curiosity_Rover_Arm_Camera_square.jpg">NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The last is the Curiosity rover. For me it sums up the efforts to explore our neighbour, Mars. These missions went in search of life and traces of water, carrying a complex laboratory, drills, laser and high resolution cameras.</p>
<p>Curiosity particularly illustrates the challenges we are capable of mastering to land a probe on Mars – described by NASA themselves as “seven minutes of terror”.</p>
<p>These rovers have achieved an outstanding feat, where now those exploring beyond Earth are not astronomers but geologists, the rovers’ equipment replacing the hammer and microscope used during fieldwork. The missions have added Mars to the “territory” that humans have access to. It’s even on <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/mars/">Google Maps</a> – imagery so good that we can see its surface as if we were there and can <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/02/11-rocks-on-mars-illusions_n_5697695.html">look at rocks in such detail</a> as if we were picking up pebbles at the beach.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ki_Af_o9Q9s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>It’s out there waiting for us</h2>
<p>Probes have witnessed solar eclipses and comet fly-bys that provide an entirely different view than is possible from Earth – something that adds a feel of awe and wonder, like looking back on Earth from the moon.</p>
<p>The sort of incredible images provided by these probes connects us with the solar system, bringing it closer to home. Famous images of Earth from space, such as the <a href="http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_cat.php?categoryID=1484">Blue Marble</a> and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M">Pale Blue Dot</a> catalysed our ecological conscience, reminding us of the fragility of our world in comparison to the vast, cold emptiness of outer space. </p>
<p>Such images lead us on to explore the universe and ourselves, and the findings of these remarkable spacecraft that have travelled millions, sometimes billions of miles through space over many years remind us that it’s out there to be discovered. The challenge and rewards await, as J F Kennedy said: we choose to go to space not because it is easy, but because it is hard.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44158/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Brown does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Everything in space is so far away, but probes bring us closer.Daniel Brown, Lecturer in Astronomy, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/404622015-04-29T01:10:11Z2015-04-29T01:10:11ZMercury’s MESSENGER mission comes to a crashing climax<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79564/original/image-20150428-18160-1yn52ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An artist's impression: MESSENGER flying over a colourful Mercury.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/the_mission/artistimpression/colormercury_br.html">NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than a decade after it left Earth, the space probe MESSENGER is in the dying days of its exploration of the planet Mercury.</p>
<p>The spacecraft is about to run out of fuel, and after a planned final manoeuvre on April 30, it will plummet into the surface of Mercury out of view of watchers on Earth but will remain in contact until 10 to 15 minutes prior to its demise.</p>
<p><a href="http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Mercury">Mercury</a> is the smallest of the eight current solar system planets and the one nearest to our star. (<a href="http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Pluto">Pluto</a> was relegated to being a mere dwarf planet in 2006.)</p>
<p>Unlike the other well studied and photographed planets, Mercury has until recent times remained mostly unexplored. </p>
<p>The planet – just 57.9 million km from the sun – was first visited by NASA’s <a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?Target=Venus&MCode=Mariner_10">Mariner 10</a> probe which undertook three flybys of Mercury between March 1974 and March 1975.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79110/original/image-20150423-25525-1iiy5l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79110/original/image-20150423-25525-1iiy5l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79110/original/image-20150423-25525-1iiy5l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79110/original/image-20150423-25525-1iiy5l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79110/original/image-20150423-25525-1iiy5l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79110/original/image-20150423-25525-1iiy5l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79110/original/image-20150423-25525-1iiy5l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79110/original/image-20150423-25525-1iiy5l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A photo-mosaic of images collected by Mariner 10 as it flew past Mercury showing the planet’s southern hemisphere.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The planet had to wait for more than 30 years before MESSENGER (<a href="http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/">MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging</a>) completed its first flyby in January 2008.</p>
<p>Today you can even study its craters and other surface features using the <a href="http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/the_mission/google.html">Google Earth interface</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uCr--23_AW0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>The MESSENGER spacecraft</h2>
<p>MESSENGER was launched on August 3, 2004, weighing 507.9kg, 1.42m tall, 1.85m wide, and 1.27m deep. It is powered by two body-mounted gallium arsenide solar panels and a nickel-hydrogen battery.</p>
<p>The probe carries a number of <a href="http://www.messenger-education.org/mission/onboard_inst.php">science instruments</a> to map the surface of the planet and its magnetic field, detect atmospheric gases and various elements of Mercury’s crust, and much more.</p>
<p>After its launch, the spacecraft flew by Earth once (in 2005), Venus twice (in 2006 and 2007) and Mercury three times (twice in 2008 and once in 2009).</p>
<p>This multi-flyby process greatly reduced the amount of fuel needed to decelerate, although at the cost of increasing both travel time and distance. </p>
<p>Planets such as Venus and Mars have atmospheres that enable the minimisation of fuel by utilising atmospheric friction to enter orbit.</p>
<p>But Mercury’s atmosphere is far too thin for such manoeuvres. Using gravity assist manoeuvres at Earth, Venus and Mercury provided the necessary reduction in velocity enabling it to use its rocket engine when entering its elliptical orbit around Mercury.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79125/original/image-20150423-25563-1sg8v7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79125/original/image-20150423-25563-1sg8v7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79125/original/image-20150423-25563-1sg8v7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79125/original/image-20150423-25563-1sg8v7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79125/original/image-20150423-25563-1sg8v7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79125/original/image-20150423-25563-1sg8v7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79125/original/image-20150423-25563-1sg8v7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79125/original/image-20150423-25563-1sg8v7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Interplanetary trajectory of the MESSENGER orbiter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The insertion into a highly elliptical orbit minimised the amount of fuel necessary and allowed time for the probe to cool down after passing between the planet and the sun.</p>
<p>It also allowed measurement of the effects of solar wind and Mercury’s magnetic field at varying distances, as well as capturing close-up measurements and photographs of the surface and exosphere.</p>
<p>After travelling 7.9 billion km and orbiting the sun 15 times MESSENGER entered Mercury’s orbit on March 18, 2011. The science instruments were reactivated on March 24 and the first photo from orbit was returned to Earth a few days later on March 29.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79083/original/image-20150423-25563-lqhr8l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79083/original/image-20150423-25563-lqhr8l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79083/original/image-20150423-25563-lqhr8l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79083/original/image-20150423-25563-lqhr8l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79083/original/image-20150423-25563-lqhr8l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79083/original/image-20150423-25563-lqhr8l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79083/original/image-20150423-25563-lqhr8l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79083/original/image-20150423-25563-lqhr8l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">By the numbers: MESSENGER’s ten years in space (2014).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Discoveries and science</h2>
<p>The MESSENGER flybys of Mercury in 2008 and 2009 were able to confirm the earlier Mariner 10 results that Mercury had an internal magnetic field and also to show that its magnetic dipole – which is just like a large bar magnet – is aligned to within 5° of the planet’s spin axis. </p>
<p>In an early flyby in 2008 there was a totally unexpected discovery that there were large amounts of water present in Mercury’s thin atmosphere. Visual evidence of past volcanic activity on the surface of Mercury and evidence for a liquid iron planetary core added to the incredible discoveries. </p>
<p>in November 2012, NASA announced, <a href="http://www.space.com/27450-messenger-mercury-water-ice-photos.html">evidence of water ice</a> and carbon-containing tar-like organic compounds molecules at both of Mercury’s poles. In these areas the deepest parts of the craters are always in shadow with temperatures reaching as low as -200C.</p>
<p>This discovery lends weight to the idea that Mercury, like the Earth, was bombarded by water-laden comets and mineral rich asteroids during the early years of the solar system.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79071/original/image-20150423-25574-r69vg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79071/original/image-20150423-25574-r69vg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79071/original/image-20150423-25574-r69vg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79071/original/image-20150423-25574-r69vg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79071/original/image-20150423-25574-r69vg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79071/original/image-20150423-25574-r69vg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79071/original/image-20150423-25574-r69vg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79071/original/image-20150423-25574-r69vg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kandinsky crater lies near Mercury’s north pole, and may have hosted water ice. MESSENGER spacecraft’s Wide Angle Camera broadband image appears at left, outlined in yellow, and superimposed on an MDIS polar mosaic. The view on the right shows the same image but with the brightness and contrast adjusted to show details of the crater’s shadowed floor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mission extended</h2>
<p>The original mission was initially for a year and then extended to allow for observations of the predicted 2012 solar maximum.</p>
<p>The solar maximum is the period during the normal 11 year solar-cycle where the number of sunspots, solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections are the highest. These are the major indicators of solar activity and MESSENGER was in a prime position to get information about the effects of increased solar activity.</p>
<p>In November 2013, Messenger was one of a number of spacecraft used to observe and photograph both Comet Encke (2P/Encke) and Comet ISON (C/2012 S1).</p>
<p>A second extended mission was scheduled to last through to March this year and has taken advantage of the probe’s orbital decay to obtain highly detailed close-up photographs of ice-filled craters and other landforms at Mercury’s north pole.</p>
<p>And so after a mission lasting almost 11 years the tiny robotic probe MESSENGER will end its mission on 30 April by <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-ten-years-spacecraft-will-end-life-as-just-another-crater-on-mercurys-surface-39484">crashing into the surface</a> of the planet. Even then data will be gathered: the new man made crater the probe crash makes will hopefully provide new information for the NASA scientists. On its final orbit the probe will be only around 250 - 500 m above the surface at around 14,500km/hr.</p>
<p>NASA scientists will continue to gather data from MESSENGER until it finally succumbs to Mercury’s gravity.</p>
<h2>A question of ethics?</h2>
<p>This raises a question: just as comet and asteroid impactors may have delivered organic matter to their targets, what possible contaminants will this human-made visitor introduce? </p>
<p>Since 1958, with the increasing potential of discovering extraterrestrial life, there have been groups of scientists such as Committee on Space Research (<a href="http://www.icsu.org/what-we-do/interdisciplinary-bodies/cospar/">COSPAR</a>) examining the foundational ethical principles involved in the exploration of space.</p>
<p>In 2010, a workshop was convened to consider whether planetary protection measures and practices should be extended to protect planetary environments within an ethical framework that goes beyond “science protection”. </p>
<p>Previous planetary protection policy had been aimed at avoiding the contamination of planetary environments by biological contaminants or terrestrial microbes that could compromise current or future scientific investigations, particularly those searching for indigenous life.</p>
<p>Spacecraft have been crashed into a number of planets as well as our moon. So as we continue to send probes to the very edge of our solar system, perhaps we are seeding these worlds with the basic volatile elements that could in a distant future lead to the evolution of more advanced life forming.</p>
<p>Or perhaps as early settlers to foreign shores on Earth introduced diseases with devastating consequences, what effect could any nasty little hitchhikers have on the destiny of whatever life may already exist.</p>
<h2>Mercury – so much known yet so much to learn!</h2>
<p>We now have detailed high-resolution maps of Mercury created from the hundreds of thousands of images taken by MESSENGER.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79085/original/image-20150423-25563-t4gk8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79085/original/image-20150423-25563-t4gk8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79085/original/image-20150423-25563-t4gk8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79085/original/image-20150423-25563-t4gk8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79085/original/image-20150423-25563-t4gk8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79085/original/image-20150423-25563-t4gk8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79085/original/image-20150423-25563-t4gk8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79085/original/image-20150423-25563-t4gk8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The globe on the left was created from the MDIS monochrome surface morphology base map campaign. The globe on the right was produced from the MDIS colour base map campaign. Each map is composed of thousands of images, and the colour view was created by using three of the eight colour filters acquired.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The launch of the European Space Agency’s <a href="http://sci.esa.int/bepicolombo/">BepiColombo</a> planned mission to Mercury is planned to take place during a one-month long window from January 27, 2017.</p>
<p>This is a joint mission with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and should enter Mercury orbit in January 2024 carrying two separate orbiters, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) operated by ESA and the JAXA designed Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) carried by the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM).</p>
<p>One of its tasks will be to observe the 16m crater made by MESSENGER when it impacts at around 3.9 km/s (about 14,040 km/h). Scientists will be monitoring this fresh crater in order to identify the process of space weathering—the erosive effect of radiation and tiny meteorite strikes—in action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40462/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Donna Burton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It was the first probe to find water on Mercury, the planet closest to the sun. Its mission nearly over, MESSENGER is about to crash into the planet it’s been observing.Donna Burton, PhD Candidate in Astronomy, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/400792015-04-20T02:04:07Z2015-04-20T02:04:07ZLet the people decide new place names on Mercury and Pluto<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78348/original/image-20150417-27297-13ry33b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Artist’s impression of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft encountering Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/april/nasa-hosts-briefings-on-historic-mission-to-pluto/">NASA/Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you think a place on Pluto should be named after the sinister tentacle-faced monster <a href="http://lovecraft.wikia.com/wiki/Cthulhu">Cthulhu</a> from the novels of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft? Or a crater on Mercury after iconic opera singer <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/melba-dame-nellie-7551">Dame Nellie Melba</a>?</p>
<p>Mercury and Pluto are at the opposite ends of the solar system, but this year, as a result of two extraordinary space missions, some of their newly observed topographical features will receive names.</p>
<p>Four years ago, NASA’s <a href="http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/">Messenger</a> spacecraft slipped into orbit around Mercury, the planet closest to the sun. It’s still there, but only just –- operating on a whisper of fuel, it’s predicted to fall to the surface on April 30.</p>
<p>Around five billion kilometres away, the <a href="http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/">New Horizons</a> spacecraft is in its final approach to Pluto. In July 2015, we’ll be able to see the surface of this controversial dwarf planet, discovered in 1930 by <a href="http://www.space.com/19824-clyde-tombaugh.html">Clyde Tombaugh</a>.</p>
<p>For both planets, crowd-sourcing is being used to choose the new place-names.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78350/original/image-20150417-27280-lnadm2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78350/original/image-20150417-27280-lnadm2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78350/original/image-20150417-27280-lnadm2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78350/original/image-20150417-27280-lnadm2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78350/original/image-20150417-27280-lnadm2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78350/original/image-20150417-27280-lnadm2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78350/original/image-20150417-27280-lnadm2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78350/original/image-20150417-27280-lnadm2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Messenger captured many craters on Mercury.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080121.html">MESSENGER Teams, JHU APL, NASA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mapping our celestial neighbours</h2>
<p>How do places in the solar system get named? We already use the names of gods and goddesses given by the Romans, over 2,000 years ago, to the most visible planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. </p>
<p>The existence of Pluto, Uranus and Neptune wasn’t known until much later; but they were similarly named after classical deities.</p>
<p>Planetary geography really kicked off with the invention of telescopes in the 17th century. Celestial places were being mapped by European astronomers at the same time as places on the Earth, in the era of European colonial expansion.</p>
<p>The lunar <em>maria</em> (“seas”), mountains and craters familiar to us today were mapped by the first real selenographer (charter of the moon), the Dutch astronomer <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830902473.html">Michael van Langren</a>, in 1645. (Incidentally, he also made the first known <a href="http://www.datavis.ca/papers/langren-TAS09154.pdf">statistical graph</a>).</p>
<p>His place names were mostly European royalty and notable scientists of the time. These included French queen <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/anne-of-austria-9185816">Anne of Austria</a>, now more famous as a character in The Three Musketeers, and the Jesuit mathematician <a href="http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/L/Leurechon.html">Jean Leurechon</a>, who, among other achievements, wrote the earliest known description of how the ear trumpet works.</p>
<p>Twenty years later in 1665, <a href="http://www.space.com/18902-giovanni-cassini.html">Giovanni Cassini</a> observed Jupiter’s giant red storm. He called it the rather prosaic “Permanent Spot”, to distinguish it from the shadows cast by the orbiting moons on the surface.</p>
<p>Some of the earliest names on Mars were given to light and dark markings (albedo features) by English astronomer Richard Proctor in 1867.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78329/original/image-20150417-20732-dw5gfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78329/original/image-20150417-20732-dw5gfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78329/original/image-20150417-20732-dw5gfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78329/original/image-20150417-20732-dw5gfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78329/original/image-20150417-20732-dw5gfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78329/original/image-20150417-20732-dw5gfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78329/original/image-20150417-20732-dw5gfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78329/original/image-20150417-20732-dw5gfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Richard A. Proctor’s early map of Mars, from Other Worlds than Ours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Proctor_Mars_Map.jpg">Wikimedia/Richard A. Proctor</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The names he chose were astronomers involved in Mars observation, such as the Reverend William Dawes, on whose map he based his own. He was a bit over-enthusiastic, though, and re-used the same names in different features – hence the Reverend Dawes was immortalised not once but six times, as an ocean, continent, sea, strait, island and bay. </p>
<p>The colour-blind astronomer <a href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1997JBAA..107...11S">Giovanni Schiaparelli</a> made a detailed Martian map when the planet was <a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/nightsky/opposition/">in opposition</a> in 1877: he stuck with the classical tradition, using names such as Elysium, Tharsis and Zephyria.</p>
<p>In 1934, <a href="http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/MARS/CHAP09.HTM">Eugene Antoniadi</a>’s map of Mercury similarly drew on classical antiquity, with an albedo feature named after the esoteric sage <a href="http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/alchemy/hermes.html">Hermes Trismegistus</a>, and another after the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s solar-heated <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440314002040">Heliocaminus</a> baths.</p>
<h2>What’s in a name?</h2>
<p>By the 20th century this messy and ad hoc system of naming celestial places was becoming a problem for astronomers. English astronomer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Adela_Blagg">Mary Adela Blagg</a> began work on sorting out lunar nomenclature, and when the International Astronomical Union (<a href="http://www.iau.org/">IAU</a>) was established in 1919, they appointed her to their first <a href="https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming/">nomenclature</a> committee.</p>
<p>With the modern era of space exploration from the 1950s, satellites and space probes gave us new eyes to see details never before visible. The IAU had to step up its activities. In 1958 they rationalised Martian place names, in favour of Schiaparelli’s system rather than Proctor’s.</p>
<p>Task groups were set up to handle Mercury, Venus and the Outer Planets as more deep space probes explored the solar system.</p>
<p>The IAU’s principles state that names should:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Be clear, simple and unambiguous to facilitate scientific communication</p>
<p>Avoid duplication</p>
<p>Avoid political, military or religious significance</p>
<p>Promote diversity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The IAU has a list of preferred sources, including <a href="http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/References">well-known collections of myths and legends</a> from around the world. Scientists and the general public can also suggest names or themes. But there is no obligation for the various task groups to accept these suggestions.</p>
<h2>Crowd-sourcing the solar system</h2>
<p>This year, the IAU has turned to crowd-sourcing names as a result of these two significant missions to the inner and outer solar system.</p>
<p>To celebrate the end of Messenger’s mission, NASA and the Messenger team decided to ask the public to <a href="http://namecraters.carnegiescience.edu/these-craters-need-a-name">name five craters</a> on Mercury.</p>
<p>Since Mariner 10’s flyby in 1973, Mercury’s theme has been artists of all kinds: music, writing, visual arts and performance.</p>
<p>There you’ll find the Equiano crater, after Beninese writer, abolition campaigner and former slave <a href="http://abolition.e2bn.org/people_25.html">Olaudah Equiano</a>; and the Sei Shonagon crater, honouring the 10th century Japanese courtier who <a href="http://guerrillasemiotics.com/?p=2937">pioneered the list</a> as a literary form. <a href="http://namecraters.carnegiescience.edu/">Nominations are currently with the IAU</a>, and the results should be announced this month.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78354/original/image-20150417-27286-m1ikoj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78354/original/image-20150417-27286-m1ikoj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78354/original/image-20150417-27286-m1ikoj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78354/original/image-20150417-27286-m1ikoj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78354/original/image-20150417-27286-m1ikoj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78354/original/image-20150417-27286-m1ikoj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78354/original/image-20150417-27286-m1ikoj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78354/original/image-20150417-27286-m1ikoj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The first colour image ever made of the Pluto system by a spacecraft, New Horizons, taken from 115 million km. The detail of the planet and moon system will become clearer as the craft gets closer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?gallery_id=2&image_id=175">NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The SETI Institute and the New Horizons team have coordinated a similar campaign. They came up with an extensive list of names on Pluto’s theme – exploration and the underworld – for the public to vote on. (And yes, Cthulhu is on the ballot, along with Sun Wukong, better known to us as <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7520243.stm">Monkey</a>).</p>
<p>They’re also accepting nominations for names not on their list. <a href="http://www.ourpluto.org/">Voting closes on April 24th</a> and the resulting shortlist will be sent to the IAU for the final decision.</p>
<p>These naming campaigns help make the Earth-bound feel included in space exploration. But encouraging participation and diversity is far more than an exercise in public engagement.</p>
<p>As historian Paul Carter says, in his book <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-road-to-botany-bay">The Road to Botany Bay</a>, spatial history begins:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] not in a particular year, not in a particular place, but in the <em>act of naming</em>. For by the act of place-naming, space is transformed symbolically into a place, that is, a place with history. </p>
<p>And, by the same token, the namer inscribes [their] passage permanently on the world, making a metaphorical word-place which others may one day inhabit […]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Celestial geography mirrors the power relations of terrestrial politics. The long tradition of classical and European names reflected a world-view which privileged the Western over Indigenous, Eastern and global south cultures.</p>
<p>But through the IAU and crowd-sourcing projects such as these, the public has an opportunity to write new values onto planetary surfaces. Let’s take it!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40079/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Gorman is a member of the National Executive Council of the Space Industry Association of Australia. She proposed a name for a crater on Mercury (not Nellie Melba), and has blogged about the Pluto naming campaign.</span></em></p>Who gets to name the craters and features on our planets was once an ad hoc affair. But now the public can have a say with just days left to vote.Alice Gorman, Lecturer in archaeology and space studies, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.