NASA Messenger Probe's Final Image Before Fatal Mercury Collision
Messenger probe ran out of fuel after decade in space, smashed into Mercury.
— -- NASA's Messenger probe sent one final image back to Earth before making its fatal crash into Mercury, ending a decade of space exploration.
With no more fuel and the pull of solar gravity putting it on a path to an imminent death, NASA's probe sent one final snap of a 58-mile-wide crater on Mercury's surface before making its own impact.
Messenger crashed into Mercury Thursday afternoon at a speed of more than 8,700 miles per hour, leaving a new impact crater on Mercury's surface -- as well as a scientific legacy on Earth.
It began orbiting Mercury in 2011 and has since been collecting data about the planet to send back to Earth, including more than 270,000 photos.
Among Messenger's discoveries about the planet are hollows on its surface, evidence of volcanism and polar deposits of water ice.
Launched in 2004, Messenger traveled nearly 5 billion miles on a route that included 15 trips around the sun, whizzing past Earth once, Venus twice and Mercury three times.
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