MESSENGER

MESSENGER

Artist's rendering of MESSENGER orbiting Mercury.
Mission type	Mercury probe
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	2004-030A
SATCAT no.	28391
Website	messenger.jhuapl.edu
Mission duration	Total: 10 years, 8 months and 27 days At Mercury: 4 years, 1 month and 14 days En route: 7 years Primary mission: 1 year First extension: 1 year[1] Second extension: 2 years[2][3]
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Applied Physics Laboratory
Launch mass	1,107.9 kg (2,443 lb)
Power	450 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	August 3, 2004, 06:15:56 (2004-08-03UTC06:15:56Z) UTC
Rocket	Delta II 7925H-9.5
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
Entered service	April 4, 2011
End of mission
Disposal	Deorbited
Destroyed	April 30, 2015 at 19:26 UT[4]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Hermiocentric
Perihermion	200 kilometers (120 mi)
Apohermion	10,300 kilometers (6,400 mi)
Inclination	80 degrees
Period	12 hours
Epoch	Jan 1, 2000[5]
Flyby of Earth (gravity assist)
Closest approach	August 2, 2005
Distance	2,347 kilometers (1,458 mi)
Flyby of Venus (gravity assist)
Closest approach	October 24, 2006
Distance	2,990 kilometers (1,860 mi)
Flyby of Venus (gravity assist)
Closest approach	June 5, 2007
Distance	337 kilometers (209 mi)
Flyby of Mercury
Closest approach	January 14, 2008
Distance	200 kilometers (120 mi)
Flyby of Mercury
Closest approach	October 6, 2008
Distance	200 kilometers (120 mi)
Flyby of Mercury
Closest approach	September 29, 2009
Distance	228 kilometers (142 mi)
Mercury orbiter
Orbital insertion	March 18, 2011, 01:00 UTC[6]
Discovery program ← CONTOUR Deep Impact →

MESSENGER, MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging, was an unmanned NASA and APL spacecraft.^[7] It was orbiting and studying the planet Mercury.^[7] Its mission lasted 10 years, 8 months and 28 days.

It was launched on August 3, 2004^[7][8] at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket.^[8] After launch, the probe did several fly-bys and deep space manoeuvres to gain the right trajectory and speed.^[7]

It completed 30% mapping of Mercury on January 14, 2008. MESSENGER made one more pass by Mercury in 2009, and on March 18, 2011 began to orbit Mercury.^[7][9] 100% mapping was completed in March 2013 and the probe continued its studies. On April 30, 2015, it crashed into Mercury. It crashed near the crater Janáček.

1. ↑ "NASA extends spacecraft's Mercury mission". UPI. November 15, 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
2. ↑ Wu, Brian (April 3, 2015). "NASA Set to Extend Mercury Mission for Another Month". Johns Hopkins University APL. The Science Times. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
3. ↑ "MESSENGER's Operations at Mercury Extended". Johns Hopkins University APL. SpaceRef.com. April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.^{[permanent dead link]}
4. ↑ "Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration".
5. ↑ Domingue, D.L.; Russell, C.T. (2007). Messenger mission to Mercury (1st ed.). New York: Springer. pp. 225–245. ISBN 9780387772141.
6. ↑ Lee, Jimmy; Galuska, Mike (March 18, 2011). "NASA Chats – MESSENGER Prepares to Orbit Mercury". NASA. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} How it works book of amazing technology : everything you need to know about the world's best tech. Bournemouth: Imagine Pub. 2011. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-1-908222-08-4. OCLC 784550467.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} "Launch Coverage: MESSENGER Mission". NASA. Archived from the original on 2011-08-04. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
9. ↑ Murchie, Scott L.; Vervack Jr., Ronald J.; Anderson, Brian J. (March 2011), "Journey to the Innermost Planet", Scientific American, vol. 304, no. 3, New York, pp. 26–31, Bibcode:2011SciAm.304c..34M, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0311-34, PMID 21438487