It's been a long and hard road for NASA's Messenger Probe as it studied the surface of Mercury for the last four years. That journey, however, will come to an end today, after NASA announced that the craft will crash land into the planet at around 3:30pm ET today. The vehicle was the first that managed to make it to Mercury, and has been in service for more than a decade -- far longer than administrators had ever expected it to last. In fact, the project was only meant to last for a year, but canny fuel-saving measures managed to quadruple its lifespan.
Tomorrow, @MESSENGER2011 adds a crater to Mercury's scarred face. Look back on the mission: http://t.co/9isHYI9Ycx https://t.co/xqJcgUQ749
- NASA (@NASA) April 29, 2015
[Image credit: NASA/JHU APL/Carnegie Institution of Washington]
Filed under: Transportation, Science, Alt
Source: NASA
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