Discover Mercury

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Animations and Videos

Images

Activities

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Mercury

Learn more about Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system (only slightly larger than Earth's Moon!).

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Measurements from NASA MESSENGER MLA instrument during the spacecraft greater than four-year orbital mission have mapped the topography of Mercury northern hemisphere in great detail.

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft mapped the topography of Mercury's northern hemisphere in great detail, as seen in this enhanced color mosaic which shows (from left to right) Munch (61 km/38 mi), Sander (52 km/32 mi), and Poe (81 km/50 mi) craters, all located in the northwest portion of the Caloris basin. The smooth volcanic plains that fill the Caloris basin appear orange in this image. All three craters are superposed on these volcanic plains and have excavated low-reflectance material, which appears blue in this image, from the subsurface.

NASA/JHU-APL/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Animations and Videos

An artist's illustration of the Sun with rays extending outward is shown with a white horizontal streak passing through.

What Mercury's Unusual Orbit Reveals About the Sun

Learn how Mercury's orbit – more elliptical or "oval-shaped" than any other planet – provides a unique opportunity to study how the Sun's influence on a planet varies with distance.

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Color-enhanced view of Mercury reveals a rainbow spectrum of minerals.

Mercury in False Color

Check out this global color map of Mercury's surface which was created using data collected by the MESSENGER Wide Angle Camera.

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A full globe view of gray-colored planet Mercury as seen from a spacecraft. Craters and white patches also are visible.

Global View of Mercury

Explore Mercury in this global view from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft.

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Impact craters fill this view of Mercury's south pole. It looks very much like Earth's moon.

Cosmic Cycles: Planetary Fantasia

Discover the planets in this unique fusion of music and science.

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Images

View images of Mercury taken by spacecraft explorers.

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A view of the limb of Mercury with numerous craters is shown.

This image is a mosaic of two images that were acquired as part of the MESSENGER mission's Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) limb imaging campaign. These limb images provide information about Mercury's shape and complement measurements of topography made by the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) of Mercury's northern hemisphere.

NASA/JHU-APL/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Activities

Three images are displayed side-by-side. The left image shows sidewalk chalk pictures of Earth, Mercury, and the Sun. The middle image shows a tape measure with a string of buttons laying on top of it. The right image shows a man holding a card in his left hand and a laptop in his right.

Make a Scale Solar System

Create your own scale model of the solar system by learning how to calculate scale distances, the relative sizes of planets, or both. Then, use beads and string, sidewalk chalk, or your own creative choice of materials to build a model you can explore – or maybe even wear!

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A mainly blank notebook is shown with the beginnings of a written poem on the right page. A hand is shown holding a pen to the paper.

Write a Poem About Mercury

In this activity, you'll learn about different kinds of poems and find out how to create your own poetry inspired by space.

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A grey circle with two elongated eyes, a smiling mouth, and high eyebrows is shown under the text "Pretend to be...MERCURY a printable planet mask."

Make Your Own Mercury Mask

Create your own wearable planet mask!

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A circle is shown with various splotches inside, representing a cratered surface.

Mercury Coloring Page

Color and learn about Mercury!

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Printable Graphics

A global view of the planet Mercury is shown in false color.

Mercury Poster - Version A

A global map of Mercury's surface created from images obtained by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft. The colors are not what the eye would see, but are related to compositional variations on the surface.

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Close up view of the limb of Mercury showing a battered, cratered surface.

Mercury Poster - Version B

This mosaic of images from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft shows the impact crater Hokusai on Mercury.

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Color-enhanced view of the limb of Mercury.

Mercury Poster - Version C

A perspective view from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft, looking towards Mercury's north and colorized by the topographic height of the surface.

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The front of the Mercury lithograph with a half-lit view of Mercury shown at the left and zoomed in views of different surface features shown at the right.

Mercury Info Sheet

This information sheet features images of Mercury taken from the Mariner 10 and MESSENGER missions along with general information, significant dates and interesting facts about Mercury.

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