Messenger, an acronym of MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been orbiting planet Mercury from a long time. Soon, the spacecraft will crash into the surface of the planet. Just days before smashing into the surface, the spacecraft took stunning close-up image of the planet.

The Messenger spacecraft, which was launched more than a decade ago, had entered the planet's orbit in 2011. Since then, it has been sending stunning images to controllers on earth. According to astronomers, the spacecraft used most of its fuel and expected to perform its one final maneuver before crashing into the surface of the planet. As per the United States space agency, the spacecraft is expected to crash into Mercury at a speed of about 8,000 miles per hour.

The latest image of Mercury that the spacecraft has sent back look like psychedelic posters from the 1970s. John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA HQ in Washington, said that for the first time, astronomers have real knowledge about the smallest and closest planet to the sun.

Grunsfeld said, "Spacecraft operations will end, we are celebrating Messenger as more than a successful mission. It's the beginning of a longer journey to analyze data that reveals all the scientific mysteries of Mercury".

Andrew Prentice, Emeritus Professor at Monash University, said that the NASA spacecraft has answered several questions about the planet. The spacecraft took about six-and-a-half years to reach the planet on 18 March 2011. Since then, Messenger has discovered water and chemicals on the planet's surface that came from comets and asteroids.

Messenger was the second mission after Mariner 10's 1975 flyby to reach Mercury. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket in 2004.