NASA's Mercury mission comes to a crashing end

A Nasa spacecraft's four-year mission to Mercury has come to a end with the probe smashing into the planet as planned after it ran out of fuel.

The Messenger probe, launched in 2004, has sent back numerous incredible pictures of the tiny, cratered planet closest to the sun - where daytime temperatures often reach 427C.

The 500kg probe crashed into Mercury at 8,750mph, leaving a 50ft wide-crater of its own.John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the science mission directorate at Nasa headquarters in Washington, said: "While spacecraft operations will end, we are celebrating Messenger as more than a successful mission. It's the beginning of a longer journey to analyse the data that reveals all the scientific mysteries of Mercury."