For years, the planet Mercury was a mystery because of its existence. The smallest and closest planet to the Sun has long baffled astronomers because it defies much of what we know about planet formation.
A latest scientific study has found that a new space mission, arriving in 2026, could solve the cosmic mystery.
On the surface, Mercury might be the solar system’s dullest planet, and its surface shows that the chance of life among the scorched craters is non-existent because there is no evidence of past water and the planet’s delicate atmosphere is fragile at best.
Planetary scientists remain puzzled by the existence of the planet closest to our sun.
Mercury is the densest planet in the solar system after Earth, thanks to a large, metallic core that accounts for most of its mass.
Scientists have revealed that Mercury in particular is small and twenty times less massive than Earth.
“There’s an important subtlety we’re missing,” says Sean Raymond, an expert in planetary formation and dynamics at the University of Bordeaux in France.
The mystery of where Mercury came from, how it formed, and why it looks like it does today is one of the greatest mysteries in the solar system.
Looking back at the other facts, scientists are also concerned about the proximity to the sun.
A joint European and Japanese mission has been called BepiColombo Launched in 2018, it is currently headed to Mercury and the probe will be the first visitor to the planet in more than a decade. The main goal is to try to figure out “where exactly Mercury came from.”
The scientists said that after a problem with the thrusters delayed the trip in 2018, the resumed mission will enter Mercury’s orbit in November 2026.
Scientists explain that figuring out how mercury is formed is important not only for understanding more about the origins of our solar system, but also for studying planets around stars and exoplanets.
“Mercury is probably the closest planet to an exoplanet,” and because of its unusual formation “it’s a fascinating world,” says Saverio Cambioni, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.
Furthermore, astronomers first realized that something was wrong with Mercury after NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft flew past the planet three times in 1974 and 1975, which were humanity’s first visits to the inner world of the solar system.
These flybys provided the first gravity measurements of the planet, providing the first glimpse into Mercury and revealing its bizarre innards.
Scientists reveal that Mercury is completely different from other planets in the solar system and that its core covers about 85% of its radius with only a thin rocky mantle and crust on top.
Another mission to Mercury by NASA’s Messenger, which orbited the world between 2011 and 2015, raised further concerns about its existence.
Just 60 million km from the Sun, temperatures on Mercury can reach peaks of up to 430 degrees Celsius during the day, while at night they can drop to -180 degrees Celsius.
Discoveries like these have contributed to the idea that Mercury doesn’t really belong in its current home around the sun, reports BBC.
Astronomers have long puzzled over Mercury’s position in the solar system, in an area where they don’t think a planet like Mercury could easily form.
“The formation of Mercury is a big problem,” says Nicola Tosi, a planetary scientist at the German Aerospace Center in Berlin.
“It’s still unclear why Mercury looks like this.” He added.
