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Jaruzel writes:

A spacecraft that carries a sensor built at the University of Michigan (among others) is about to crash into the planet closest to the sun — just as NASA intended, reports Phys.org:

MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) launched from Earth in 2004, traveled 4.9 billion miles, and has been orbiting Mercury for the past three years, giving scientists an unprecedented look into both the history of the solar system and a planet they knew relatively little about. It will run out of fuel around April 30 and end its mission with a bang.

Without a thick atmosphere to slow the craft down and partially incinerate it, MESSENGER will keep accelerating as it barrels toward Mercury. It'll be traveling around 8,750 mph when it hits.