Messenger is equipped with six of its own instruments to conduct tests on the Mercury trip.

According to documents on NASA's Web site, the spacecraft includes a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer that's designed to map different elements and offer clues about the existence of ice at the planet's poles. A magnetometer is attached to a nearly 12-foot boom and will scan the planet for areas of magnetized rocks. And a dual-imaging system has wide- and narrow-angle imagers that should be able to map the surface and give scientists a topographical view.

NASA scientists and engineers spent about 20 years developing new materials and technologies for Messenger.