Mercury's MESSENGER Mission Comes to a Crashing End

On March 18, 2011, NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft finally inserted itself into orbit around Mercury after six and a half years of traveling across our solar system. Now the 11-year-old spacecraft is finally retiring, with plans to end its career by leaving its mark on the planet it observed for so long.