Exploration of Mercury

Common card · No. 305079

The exploration of Mercury has been limited, making it the least explored of the inner planets. It began with the Mariner 10 flybys in 1974 and 1975, continued with the MESSENGER orbiter from 2011 to 2015, and is set to advance with the BepiColombo mission, which is scheduled to enter orbit in November 2026. Missions to Mercury are challenging because of the high fuel requirements for reaching the planet and entering orbit, as well as the extreme thermal environment near the Sun. Mariner 10 returned the first close-up images of Mercury and discovered its magnetic field. MESSENGER became the first spacecraft to orbit the planet, mapped its entire surface, and found evidence of water ice in permanently shadowed polar craters. BepiColombo, a joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is designed to build on and complement MESSENGER's findings. After a series of gravity-assist flybys, it is expected to begin its primary orbital science...

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