NASA's Mercury mission comes to a crashing end

Washington: Running out of fuel, NASA's Messenger spacecraft crashed into Mercury's surface on Thursday at 3.26.02 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), thereby putting a historic end to its four years of orbital operations. The Messenger was the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unravelling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. Travelling at 3.91 km per second or 14,000 kmph, the Messenger spacecraft's crash created a crater estimated to be 16 metres (52 feet) in diameter, NASA said. The mission has far exceeded its primary plan of one year in orbit.