MESSENGER Final Image

Today, the MESSENGER spacecraft sent its final image. Originally planned to orbit Mercury for one year, the mission exceeded all expectations, lasting for over four years and acquiring extensive datasets with its seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation. This afternoon, the spacecraft succumbed to the pull of solar gravity and impacted Mercury's surface. The image shown here is the last one acquired and transmitted back to Earth by the mission. The image is located within the floor of the 93-kilometer-diameter crater Jokai. The spacecraft struck the planet just north of Shakespeare basin. Date acquired: April 30, 2015 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 72716050 Image ID: 8422953 Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Center Latitude: 72.0° Center Longitude: 223.8° E Resolution: 2.1 meters/pixel Scale: This image is about 1 kilometers (0.6 miles) across Incidence Angle: 57.9° Emission Angle: 56.5° Phase Angle: 40.7° http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19448