MESSENGER

MESSENGER launched into space on August 3rd, 2004 and has now completed its mission. Its primary destination was Mercury, which it arrived at on April 4th, 2011 . Wherever MESSENGER goes, it carries its trusty cameras, laser altimeter, magnetometer, radio transmitter, and spectrometers. MESSENGER often chats with humans from NASA and JHUAPL.

MESSENGER (short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) is the first space probe to orbit Mercury. The space probe traveled 8 billion km, including 15 trips around the Sun, one flyby of Earth, two flybys of Venus, and three flybys of Mercury, before reaching its orbit. MESSENGER is investigating Mercury’s surface, atmosphere and magnetic field to learn more about how the planet evolved over time. Data from the space probe revealed that Mercury’s surface was shaped by volcanic activity and confirmed the presence of water ice in the shadows of craters. On April 30, 2015, MESSENGER crashed into the surface of Mercury after using up all its fuel.

Worth Exploring:

a hyperlapse of Mercury's surface shot by MESSENGER
an iPhone/iPad app detailing MESSENGER's mission and updates

(top image: Hovnatanian crater on Mercury as seen by MESSENGER, NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington)