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, the space probe that discovered water on Mercury and has been circling the planet for four years, will take a swan dive at the end of the month in hopes of discovering something about weathering on the surface.


Messenger (an acronym for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft) was launched in 2004, but took a roundabout journey to Mercury, building up speed with slingshot maneuvers around the sun, Earth, Venus and even buzzing Mercury itself three times before entering the planet's orbit in March 2011.

, "The probe's observations have helped scientists construct the best-ever maps of the planet, and Messenger confirmed that carbon-containing organic compounds and water ice exist inside the permanently shadowed craters near Mercury's poles."


But ground controllers will set Messenger up for a suicide mission with a final orbital correction on April 24.


The crash-landing will occur six days later on April 30, forming an impact crater on Mercury (already 

 in the solar system).
In 2024, a joint European-Japanese mission, known as the 

 and due for launch in 2017, will take a look at Messenger's gravesite to see how much weathering has occurred in the intervening nine years.


"Having an impact crater, even a small one, whose origin date is precisely known, will be an important benchmark," Sean Solomon, the mission's principal investigator and director of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, is quoted by Space.com as saying.

 reported earlier this month, Messenger will join an elite "Touchdown Club":


Science

Messenger, the space probe that discovered water on Mercury and has been circling the planet for four years, will take a swan dive in hopes of discovering more.

Mercury probe set for crash-landing on April 30

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