Missions to Mercury

• Published in: Space science reviews Vol. 132; no. 2-4; pp. 611 - 645
• Main Authors: Balogh, Andre, Grard, Rejean, Solomon, Sean C, Schulz, Rita, Langevin, Yves, Kasaba, Yasumasa, Fujimoto, Masaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Nature B.V 01-10-2007
• Subjects: Earth; Mercury; Missions; Orbits; Payloads; Planets; Proposals; Sun
• ISSN: 0038-6308; 1572-9672
• DOI: 10.1007/s11214-007-9212-4

Mercury is a very difficult planet to observe from the Earth, and space missions that target Mercury are essential for a comprehensive understanding of the planet. At the same time, it is also difficult to orbit because it is deep inside the Sun's gravitational well. Only one mission has visited Mercury; that was Mariner 10 in the 1970s. This paper provides a brief history of Mariner 10 and the numerous imaginative but unsuccessful mission proposals since the 1970s for another Mercury mission. In the late 1990s, two missions--MESSENGER and BepiColombo--received the go-ahead; MESSENGER is on its way to its first encounter with Mercury in January 2008. The history, scientific objectives, mission designs, and payloads of both these missions are described in detail.