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INTRODUCTION
Mercury is the innermost planet and the least known of the terrestrial (or rocky) planets. Most of our knowledge of Mercury comes from the three Mariner 10 flybys in 1974-1975. I am in the process of calibrating and digitally mosaicking much of the lunar and mercurian image data acquired by Mariner 10. As progress is made on this project (sponsored by NASA's Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program) portions of the data will be posted on this web page.
The Terrestrial Planets: Fun Facts
| Diam (km) | Density (g cm-3) | Temp (K) | Gravity (cm s-2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 4880 | 5.4 | ~700 | 370 |
| Venus | 12100 | 5.3 | ~740 | 890 |
| Earth's Moon | 3476 | 3.3 | ~350 | 162 |
| Earth | 12756 | 5.5 | ~290 | 978 |
| Mars | 6794 | 3.9 | ~220 | 371 |
Some publications of interest regarding Mercury and the Mariner 10 mission:
- Murray and Burgess, Flight to Mercury, Columbia University Press, 1977 (ISBN 0-231-03996-4)
- Vilas, Chapman, and Mathews (editors), Mercury, The University of Arizona Press, 1988 (ISBN 0-8165-1085-7)
- Strom, Mercury, The Elusive Planet, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987 (ISBN 0-87474-892-5)
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 80, No. 17, June 10, 1975.
Space Exploration Resources ~ School of Earth and Space Exploration ~ Arizona State University