Messenger Spacecraft

A Fond Farewell to NASA’s MESSENGER

More than 10 years ago NASA launched it’s MESSENGER spacecraft with a one-year long orbit mission in mind. But over the course of its 4.9 billion-mile-journey NASA came to find that the decade-long mission would exceed expectations far past their mark.

A Final Scene from Mercury—MESSENGER’s Last View

Before its crash-landing into the surface of its long-studied host planet, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft sent back its final view of the surface of Mercury. And now NASA is sharing it with you. Exceeding all expectations and lasting more than 4 times its original mission timeline, the spacecraft has been instrumental to NASA’s vast studies of the other planets within our solar system, so with this image and a fiery display to end its mission with flair, the space agency is paying homage to MESSENGER and its long life in orbit.

Messenger Prepares to Dive Bomb Mercury

NASA's Mercury orbiter, Messenger, is going out with a bang as it prepares to dive bomb the planet in glorious fashion, leaving behind a new crater on the planet closest to the sun that will measure approximately 16 meters wide once the dust has settled.

NASA Set to Extend Mercury Mission for Another Month

The Mercury probe sent by NASA to study the planet closest to the sun isn't ready to finish its groundbreaking work just yet so NASA is taking steps to extend it's mission for at least another month.

New NASA Maps Reveal Secrets of Mercury

The planet closest to the sun has continued to be shrouded in mystery for many years. Now, NASA has unveiled never before seen formations on the surface with two maps created from data from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft that has been orbiting the planet since 2004.

Recommended Stories

Real Time Analytics