Mercury at the Dawn of a New Exploration Phase
Mercury’s massive metallic core, volatile-rich surface, and extreme space environment establish it as a key end-member in understanding terrestrial planet formation and evolution. With the imminent arrival of the BepiColombo mission, the planet now stands at the threshold of a transformative exploration phase.
Authors
- Salvatore Buoninfante (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2596-9267)
- Edoardo Del Vecchio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5625-1548)
- Sophia Zomerdijk‐Russell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1654-0848)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- Université Nantes Angers Le Mans (FR)
- Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IT)
- Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
- National Institute for Astrophysics (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-05-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72074-8
- Primary Topic
- Planetary Science and Exploration
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities
- California Institute of Technology
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory