It takes the probe more than six years to get to Mercury . Comment: The space agency is hoping to get the first pictures from the probe by the end of the month . The primary science phase of the mission is scheduled to begin April 4 .
It takes the probe more than six years to get to Mercury . It 's a 4.9-billion-mile ( 7.9-billion-kilometer ) journey to the solar system 's innermost plant . The space agency is hoping to get the first pictures from the probe by the end of the month . The primary science phase of the mission is scheduled to begin April 4 .