Europeans Plan 2022 Follow Up To Nasa Messenger At Planet Mercury

Mercury has always been something of a puzzle for planetary scientists. Its close position to the Sun means it is very difficult to observe, but now a series of satellites is getting up close to this fascinating planet. The European Space Agency's BepiColombo mission is among them, and it will offer an unprecedented level of information about the mysterious world of Mercury when it arrives in 2022, [ESA].

The smallest planet in the solar system keeps serving up big surprises. Scientists working on the NASA MESSENGER MISSION to MERCURY have found that the planet has unexpected inner layers and craters with tilted bottoms, and it may have been geologically active far later into its life than previously imagined. The spacecraft entered orbit around Mercury March 17, 2012. Already planetary scientists have DISCOVERED WHAT APPEARS TO BE WATER ICE on the hottest planet at its polar dark craters - similar to the Moon.

Credit: outer-space-guests.blogspot.com