MESSENGER facts for kids
| MESSENGER | |
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 An artist's picture of MESSENGER orbiting Mercury |
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| Organization: | NASA / APL |
| Mission type: | Flyby / Orbiter |
| Satellite of: | Mercury |
| Launch date: | August 3, 2004 |
| Launch vehicle: | Boeing Delta II |
| Launch site: | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
Quick facts for kids edit |
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MESSENGER, MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging, was an unmanned NASA and APL spacecraft. It was orbiting and studying the planet Mercury. Its mission lasted 10 years, 8 months and 28 days.
It was launched on August 3, 2004 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. After launch, the probe did several fly-bys and deep space manoeuvres to gain the right trajectory and speed.
It completed 30% mapping of Mercury on January 14, 2008. MESSENGER made one more pass by Mercury in 2009, and on March 18, 2011 began to orbit Mercury. 100% mapping was completed in March 2013 and the probe continued its studies. On April 30, 2015, it crashed into Mercury. It crashed near the crater Janáček.
Images for kids
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MESSENGER captured a near-complete portrait of the Solar System during November 2010.
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impact details]]).
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Diagram of MESSENGER.
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Technicians prepare MESSENGER for transfer to a hazardous processing facility.
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Attachment of the PAM to MESSENGER. The ceramic-cloth sunshade is prominent in this view.
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A suited worker looks over the hydrazine fuel supply to be loaded in MESSENGER.
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Exploded diagram of Delta II launch vehicle with MESSENGER
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The launch of MESSENGER on a Delta II launch vehicle.
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A view of Earth from MESSENGER during its Earth flyby.
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A view of Earth from MESSENGER during its Earth flyby.
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Venus imaged by MESSENGER on its first flyby of the planet in 2006.
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Venus imaged by MESSENGER on its second flyby of the planet in 2007.
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A more detailed image of Venus MESSENGER on the second flyby of the planet.
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Sequence of images as MESSENGER departs after the second flyby of the planet.
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The first high-resolution color Wide Angle Camera image of Mercury acquired by MESSENGER.
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Smooth plains on Mercury imaged by MESSENGER during the third flyby of the planet.
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An image of part of the previously unseen side of the planet.
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Lava-flooded craters and large expanses of smooth volcanic plains on Mercury.
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View with Rachmaninoff crater, from third flyby
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Charles Bolden and colleagues wait for news from the MESSENGER probe.
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Charles Bolden congratulates Eric Finnegan following the successful orbital insertion.
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The first-ever photograph from Mercury orbit, taken by MESSENGER on March 29, 2011.
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False-color map showing maximum temperatures of north polar region.
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Crater Apollodorus, with the Pantheon Fossae radiating from it.
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Crater rays streaking across the planet's southern hemisphere.
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Surface hollows in the wall of crater Sholem Aleichem.
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Perspective view of Caloris Basin – high (red); low (blue).
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Mass concentrations (red; Caloris Basin at center, Sobkou Planitia at right), detected via gravity anomalies, provide evidence for subsurface structure and evolution.
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Northern hemisphere topography from MLA data shows a 10 km vertical range: high (red); low (purple).
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MASCS spectral scan of Mercury's surface.
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Water ice (yellow) in permanently shaded craters of Mercury's north polar region
