NASA spacecraft rushes down to Mercury's surface

The US Aeronautics Agency (NASA) said the Messenger probe crashed into Mercury's surface because it ran out of fuel after 11 years of operation.

The Messenger probe rushes down Mercury

The Center controls the mission of Mercury exploration at Johns Hopkins University's Physical Laboratory and Application, confirming that Messenger crashed at 3h26 on April 30 (7:26 GMT).

According to NASA, the ship collided with Mercury's surface at a speed of 14,000km / h and created a hole of 16m in diameter. The telescope system on earth cannot observe the collision because it happened on the other side of Mercury, CNN reported.

Simulation of NASA Messenger probe.(Photo: CNN)

Messenger is an acronym for Mercury Surface , space, geo-chemistry and scope. It was launched into space in 2004 and moved for 6 1/2 years to orbit Mercury on March 18, 2011. This is the first spacecraft to be responsible for observing the planet right next to the Sun.

Scientists say Messenger still works well when it comes to Mercury. However, the ship ran out of fuel after an 8-billion-kilometer journey along the four years of scrutinizing the planet closest to the Sun.

Experts could not find a solution to save the ship, so they decided to let it break down and celebrate because Messenger had successfully completed the assigned task.

For more than 4 years, Messenger provides valuable data and thousands of photos about Mercury. One of the biggest discoveries is that the giant ice block in the polar region is not illuminated by the sun. If Washington, USA is covered, the ice will be 2m thick.

Although it has ended, scientists will take years to analyze the data the ship sends. It is the key to helping people better understand the smallest planet in the Solar System.