'Broken Heart' Image the Last for NASAs Long-Lived Polar Mission
Polar Mission scientists dubbed the missions final image, taken April 16, 2008, The Broken Heart because of its shape. As far as endings go, this ones a real heart breaker. NASAs Polar satellite concludes its successful mission at the end of April with a breathtaking visible-light image of the colorful dancing lights of the aurora. The Polar team has dubbed this final image "The Broken Heart."
The U.S. space agency says its Polar satellite has concluded its 12-year mission to study the Northern and Southern lights. When the Polar satellite was launched in February 1996, the plan was for a two-year mission to study the lights that form a ring around Earth's north and south magnetic poles. Polar exceeded expectations by a decade.