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Mercury is gray with bright white patches, and craters visible in this image from the MESSENGER spacecraft.
A near full-globe view of Mercury is seen in this image from NASA's Messenger spacecraft.

Mercury Exploration

Because Mercury is so close to the Sun, it is hard to directly observe from Earth except during dawn or twilight when the Sun's brightness doesn't outshine little Mercury. The first spacecraft to visit Mercury was NASA's Mariner 10, which launched in 1973. NASA's MESSENGER launched in 2004. The European Space Agency and JAXA launched a joint mission to Mercury in 2018.

All NASA Science Missions about Mercury Exploration

Planet Location

Inner Solar System

first mission

Mariner 10

total missions

3

active missions

1 (ESA's BepiColombo)

Missions to Mercury

Three spacecraft have explored Mercury.

Mariner 10

The first spacecraft sent to study Mercury. 

MESSENGER

The first spacecraft to orbit Mercury.

Artist rendering of white spacecraft with extended solar panels against black background

BepiColombo

An international mission comprised of two spacecraft.

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