NASA’s spacecraft MESSENGER blasted off from Cape Canaveral in the U.S. in August 2004. After a convoluted, 7.9-billion kilometre journey designed to bring it into alignment with Mercury at the right angle and speed, it was inserted into that planet’s orbit in March 2011.
It was the first time a spacecraft had been put into Mercury’s orbit.
Mercury, only slightly larger than our moon, is the smallest planet in our solar system and it is the one closet to the Sun.
Though originally supposed to function for just one year, Messenger orbited Mercury for four years. While mapping the sun-scorched surface, it sent back more than 2,70,000 images and masses of data about Mercury’s magnetic fields and atmospheric composition. Among other things, it detected hollows on the planet’s surface, ancient lava flows and ice caps at the poles.
When its propellant fuel began running out, MESSENGER was crashed onto the planet’s surface on April 2015.
Curtain Call
NASA’s 30 – year – old space shuttle programme came to a close with the landing of the last mission – space shuttle Atlantis – on July 21, 2011. The space shuttle fleet of Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour together flew 135 missions and helped construct and maintain the International Space Station. Two missions, involving space shuttles Challenger (in 1986) and Columbia (in 2003), ended catastrophically and claimed the lives of 14 astronauts.
Picture Credit : Google