Mercury requires future lander mission for full exploration

Mercury remains one of the most elusive and difficult planets to study in the solar system, Universe Today reported. Ground-based optical observatories avoid pointing toward Mercury because the nearby glare of the Sun risks damaging their optics. It is easier to send space probes to Pluto or the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn than to land on the innermost planet. [1]

Space agencies have previously sent orbital and flyby missions to the planet. NASA sent Mariner 10 to perform three flybys of Mercury between 1974 and 1975, Universe Today reported. NASA followed those flybys with an orbital insertion in 2011, and the joint European and Japanese BepiColombo mission is also visiting the planet. [1]

Mercury has the smallest mass and the weakest magnetic field of the four terrestrial planets. It possesses a variable exosphere with a combined pressure of about 10 to the power of minus 14 bar, containing hydrogen, helium, oxygen, sodium, calcium, potassium, and water vapor. Particles from the solar wind and surface material replenish the exosphere, while solar radiation pushes particles away to create a tail behind the planet. [2]

Universe Today reported that despite the BepiColombo visit, space agencies must send a dedicated lander mission to Mercury to fully understand the planet. [1]