MESSENGER
NASA's MESSENGER Discovery mission used one Earth, two Venus, and three Mercury gravity assists to become the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, then mapped and characterized the planet for more than four years.
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Identity
- Aliases
- MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and RangingMercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and RangingMESSENGER
- Name
- MESSENGER
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- NASA's MESSENGER Discovery mission used one Earth, two Venus, and three Mercury gravity assists to become the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, then mapped and characterized the planet for more than four years.
- Destination
- Mercury orbit from 18 March 2011 to 30 April 2015 for global mapping and study of the planet’s surface composition, geology, internal magnetic field, exosphere, and polar water ice; the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, ending in a controlled impact after propellant depletion
- End Date
- 2015-04-30
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Success. MESSENGER became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, globally mapped the planet, characterized its composition and magnetic field, documented its geological history, and confirmed that its polar deposits are dominated by water ice. After exhausting usable propellant, it completed the mission with a predicted impact on Mercury on April 30, 2015.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 2004-08-03
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/messenger/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 17, 2026 at 00:21:30 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 23, 2026 at 01:49:47 UTC
- Image
- Download
Other
- Affiliations
- Search Name
- MESSENGER MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging MESSENGER
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles