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The radius of Mercury's core is estimated to be 2,020 ± 30 km (1,255 ± 19 mi), based on interior models constrained to be consistent with a moment of inertia factor of 0.346 ± 0.014. [9] [33] Hence, Mercury's core occupies about 57% of its volume; for Earth this proportion is 17%. Research published in 2007 suggests that Mercury has a molten ...
This was the sixth and final flyby of Mercury for the BepiColombo spacecraft since its launch in 2018. The maneuver put the spacecraft on course to enter orbit around Mercury late next year.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mercury: Mercury – smallest and innermost planet in the Solar System. Its orbital period (about 88 Earth days) is less than any other planet in the Solar System. Seen from Earth, it appears to move around its orbit in about 116 days. It has no known natural satellites.
The exploration of Mercury has a minor role in the space interests of the world. It is the least explored inner planet . [ 1 ] As of 2015, the Mariner 10 and MESSENGER missions have been the only missions that have made close observations of Mercury .
Furthermore, the space environment near Mercury is demanding, posing the double dangers to spacecraft of intense solar radiation and high temperatures. Historically, a second obstacle has been that Mercury's period of rotation is a slow 58 Earth days, [13] so that spacecraft flybys are restricted to viewing only a single illuminated hemisphere ...
Caloris Planitia / k ə ˈ l ɔːr ɪ s p l ə ˈ n ɪ ʃ (i) ə / is a plain within a large impact basin on Mercury, informally named Caloris, about 1,550 km (960 mi) in diameter. [1] It is one of the largest impact basins in the Solar System.
MESSENGER was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. [9] [10] The name is a backronym for Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging, and a reference to the messenger god Mercury from Roman mythology.
The base mosaic used in the new maps was produced with orbital images by the MESSENGER Team and released by NASA’s Planetary Data System on March 8, 2013. This global mosaic includes complete coverage of Mercury’s surface.