NASA has released a beautiful yet unnerving video showing what it would be like to slowly travel away from Earth with no hope of return. The series of images that make up this time-lapse video were captured by NASA's Messenger spacecraft as it left Earth's orbit on a one way trip to Mercury.

The probe has already provided scientists with a plethora of information about Mercury, including a detailed topography as well as the existence of both ice and organic material. Periodically, the spacecraft's camera points back at our tiny blue planet but will never again get a closer look; Messenger will crash into Mercury's surface at the end of its mission.