Apr 30, 2015 7:00 AM

Gallery: Hail and Farewell: A Robot From Earth Dies on Mercury Today

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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Mercury's chemical diversity, as mapped by Messenger's X-Ray Spectrometer. Image released April 16, 2015
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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This color mosaic shows the craters Munch, Sander and Poe in the smooth volcanic plain of the Caloris basin. Image released Apr. 16, 2015.

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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The rock surface of the peak-ring basin Derain, as seen by the Mercury Dual Imaging System. Image released Apr. 16, 2015
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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Gravity anomalies on Mercury, captured through analysis of radio tracking data. Image released Apr. 15, 2015

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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An image of the wall of a volcanic vent, situated between the Rachmaninoff basin and Copland crater. Image released Mar. 16, 2015
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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The south pole of Mercury is in permanent shadow. Here water ice, brought to the planet by comets, persists despite the planet's proximity to the Sun. Image released Apr. 16, 2015
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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Mercury holds a surprising diversity of surface materials, as seen through this analysis of infrared light by Messenger's instruments. Image released Apr. 16, 2015

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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The topography of Mercury's northern hemisphere, as mapped by a laser altimeter. Image released Apr. 16, 2015
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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Mercury, as seen from Messenger's first flyby. Image released Feb. 8, 2011

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