Volcanism has played a more extensive role in shaping the surface of Mercury than scientists had thought. This result comes from multispectral imaging data gathered in January 2008 by MESSENGER, the ...

From just 295 kilometers above Mercury's surface, ESA's BepiColombo transfer probe has captured stunning close-up images while on its final flyby of the tiny, sunbaked world. The photos represent a ...

When NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft orbited Mercury, it uncovered a planet far more complex than expected. Despite surface temperatures exceeding 430°C (800°F), scientists confirmed water ice trapped in ...

Mercury has gotten some new wrinkles in its old age. The innermost planet shows signs of relatively recent tectonic activity, a new study suggests. Tiny cliffs on the surface — just tens of meters ...

Two new papers from members of the MESSENGER Science Team provide global-scale maps of Mercury’s surface chemistry that reveal previously unrecognized geochemical terranes large regions that have ...

Mercury has long been cast as the solar system’s burnt-out rock, a relic too small and too close to the Sun to hold many ...

Mercury is looking good for its age. Even the oldest parts of the surface of the planet closest to the sun are only 4 billion to 4.1 billion years old, not 4.5 billion years old — the age at which the ...

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, possesses a weak intrinsic magnetic field and has only a very tenuous atmosphere (exosphere). These three conditions result in a direct coupling between the ...

(CNN) — A layer of diamonds up to 18 kilometers (11 miles) thick could be tucked below the surface of Mercury, the solar system’s smallest planet and the closest to the sun, according to new research.