Photographs taken from Mercury, the planet least explored in the solar system's solar system, reveal that it has a crater-ridden surface that looks like Earth's Moon.
These photos were taken by BepiColombo (a joint mission of the European Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) which launched from Europe's Spaceport in 2018. Two orbiting spacecraft are linked in the mission, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). It is expected to reach Mercury's orbit by the end of 2025.
BepiColombo seeks to collect more information on Mercury, its composition and how it evolved so closely to the Sun. Mercury's temperature can reach 350° Celsius or 660° Fahrenheit.
ESA explains the origins of the craters and the nature of the planet's surface.
One theory suggests that it could have started as a larger body, which was then stripped of most its rock by a huge impact. It was left with an iron core that generates its magnetic field and a thin outer shell. Mercury does not have an equivalent to the bright, ancient lunar highlands. Its surface is almost entirely dark and was created by huge outpourings lava billions years ago. These lava flows show the marks of comets and asteroids crashing onto the surface at speeds up to tens or hundreds of kilometers an hour. Some of the larger and older craters' floors have been submerged by younger lava flows. There are also several hundred places where volcanic explosions have caused the surface to burst from below.
Mercury, it's your turn!
This spectacular view of Mercury's northern half was captured by @ESA_MTM 10 minutes after the #MercuryFlyby close-approach, at a distance 2420km. https://t.co/jjGKrsQXDH#ExploreFarther pic.twitter.com/EMhMJ5tKiN Bepi (@ESA_Bepi) October 2, 2021
BepiColombo was named after Giuseppe Bepi Colombo (Italian scientist), who developed the gravity assist procedure for NASA's Mariner 10, the first spacecraft to Mercury. This procedure was used by the Mariner 10 in 1974. Fly-bys enable the spacecraft to use Mercury's gravity to reach the orbits of the planets. Friday's Mercury fly-by was the first of six planned before the spacecraft enters the orbits of the planets for more study. BepiColombo will also use data from NASA's Messenger mission. It orbited Mercury between 2011-2015.
The spacecraft will be able take better-resolution images as it approaches Mercury. ESA stated that more images will be made from Friday's fly-by in the coming days.
