MESSENGER missions ends with crash on Mercury
Posted: Sat, May 2, 2015, 10:42 AM ET (1442 GMT)
NASA's MESSENGER mission came to an end Thursday when the spacecraft, out of fuel, crashed on the surface of the planet Mercury. MESSENGER hit the surface of the planet at 3:26 pm EDT (1926 GMT) Thursday as expected. The spacecraft's altitude had been decaying as it ran out of fuel to maintain its orbit. MESSENGER, the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, had been orbiting the innermost planet since 2011 and long exceeded its planned mission there. The project team said they expected the impact to create a crater more than 15 meters across.
NASA's MESSENGER mission came to an end Thursday when the spacecraft, out of fuel, crashed on the surface of the planet Mercury. MESSENGER hit the surface of the planet at 3:26 pm EDT (1926 GMT) Thursday as expected. The spacecraft's altitude had been decaying as it ran out of fuel to maintain its orbit. MESSENGER, the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, had been orbiting the innermost planet since 2011 and long exceeded its planned mission there. The project team said they expected the impact to create a crater more than 15 meters across.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, February 9
Globe Telecom Seals Agreement with Starlink to Launch First Southeast Asia Direct?to?Cell Satellite Service
PR Newswire — 7:17 am ET (1217 GMT) Is Starlink still the un-jammable panacea many had thought?
Resilience Media — 7:16 am ET (1216 GMT) Sky is not the limit, India must guard the final frontier
The New Indian Express — 7:14 am ET (1214 GMT) Elon Musk said we'd reach Mars in 2026. Now, he says SpaceX is building a city on the moon.
Business Insider — 7:11 am ET (1211 GMT) Feel the boom: More and bigger SpaceX launches are coming to Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara News-Press — 7:10 am ET (1210 GMT) |
