The tiny orbiter (10 feet from wingtip to wingtip) launched in 2004 was the first earthly spacecraft ever to orbit Mercury and was responsible for major discoveries, including the presence of polar ...

On April 30, 2015, NASA's MESSENGER mission came to an end when the spacecraft intentionally crashed into the surface of Mercury. [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com] MESSENGER was the ...

NASA's MESSENGER mission to Mercury ended recently and, having run out of fuel, the spacecraft was crashed into the planet. But in the last months of its life, the probe did exciting and risky ...

On Aug. 3, 2004, NASA launched the MESSENGER spacecraft on a historic first mission to orbit the planet Mercury. The spacecraft's name stands for the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry ...

The planet Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, and also the most difficult for spacecraft to visit and explore. This is because as spacecraft get closer to Mercury, the sun's enormous gravity ...