Abstract
Mercury is an end-member in our Solar System being the most dense planet and the closest to the Sun. It is also arguably the least known planet with only 50% of its surface mapped by Mariner 10, limited data on its magnetic field and exosphere, and sparse Earth-based observational data. In the coming years, however, this situation will change as the importance of a detailed investigation of Mercury to complete our initial survey of the Solar System becomes more recognized. The European Space Agency has indicated their interest by making a Mercury Orbiter mission a “cornerstone” of their programme. In this brief article, we shall point out some of the interesting phenomena associated with Mercury and describe some of the goals future missions to Mercury should seek to achive.
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Thomas, N. (2001). Mercury — Goals for a Future Mission. In: Williams, I.P., Thomas, N. (eds) Solar and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 577. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44807-1_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44807-1_9
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