The world has just received the word that NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Messenger spacecraft that orbitted Mercury has now plumetted into the planet as the result of running out of fuel. It apparently slammed into the surface at 3:26PM EDT. At 3:40PM EDT, mission control confirmed the end of operations through NASA’s Deep Space Network located in California when the spacecraft did not appear around the planet at it’s scheduled time.

At 3:16PM, the Messenger Twittter account (@MESSENGER2011) said: “Well I guess it is time to say goodbye to all my friends, family, support team. I will be making my final impact very soon.”

Although, Messenger did not die in vain. Its mission was an outstanding success. For instance, it even discovered that the surface contained sulfur. And even while it was supposed to send 2,500 images to Earth, a whopping 270,000 were sent! What an accomplishment!

How do you think this will change or support the way that we interact with planets? Do you think that we will send more satellites to orbit our solar system? I think that in at least 10 years, space travel might be greatly influenced by our current technological development.
Tell us your thoughts below!

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