This past week, NASA scientists got their first glimpse into the makeup and composition of the mysterious planet Mercury. The spacecraft, Messenger, has beamed back images of Mercury, giving all the scientific community a closer look into this moon-like planet. Well, what they discovered was contrary to what they thought. Mercury is nothing like the Moon.

Mercury, one of Earth’s sister terrestrial planets, has remained a mystery for years. In 1975, Mariner 10 surveyed just 45% of this planet. Also, in 1975, Mariner 10 discovered that Mercury was the only other planet in our solar system that had a magnetic field like Earth. Messenger’s mission is to pick up where Mariner 10 left off and make three flybys over the planet, completing the survey of the planet. This past flyby was the first and the spacecraft took images from only 125 miles away from the planet. The images taken and beamed back to us were eye-opening. Through analysis of the images, scientists believe that Mercury’s surface was once riddled with volcanic activity.

The first pictures from the unseen side of Mercury reveal the wrinkles of a shrinking, aging planet with scars from volcanic eruptions and a birthmark shaped like a spider.

No scientists have ever seen a formation like what they are deeming “The Spider” anywhere else in our solar system. “The Spider” is in the center of the Caloris basin, and it is unknown how the formation occurred. Whether it used to be a volcano or was created by an impact, no one is sure, but scientists believe that over time “volcanic intrusion beneath the planet’s surface led to the formation of the troughs”.

The photos, released today, include one of a feature the scientists informally call “the spider,” which appears to be an impact crater surrounded by more than 50 cracks in the surface radiating from its center.

Also, with the help of NASA technology, the spacecraft was able to give scientists a more in-depth look into this planet, showing them evidence of geological processes. There was evidence of lava flows and other activity underneath the surface. All in all, Messenger’s first mission to Mercury was a success, shedding new found light on the mysteries of the planet. I fully expect that in the next three years NASA will have a much better understanding of this planet, why it has a magnetosphere like Earth, and whether or not their was once life on this ancient planet.

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