Surface of Mercury Dominated By Volcanism & Iron-Deficiency

ScienceDaily (July 5, 2008) — Volcanism has played a more extensive role in shaping the surface of Mercury than scientists had thought. This result comes from multispectral imaging data gathered in January 2008 by MESSENGER, the latest spacecraft to visit the sun's innermost planet. MESSENGER data has also identified and mapped surface rock units that correspond to lava flows, volcanos, and other geological features. At the same time, the spacecraft's suite of instruments has confirmed an apparent planet-wide iron deficiency in Mercury's surface rocks. MESSENGER (short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) is the first spacecraft to visit Mercury since NASA's Mariner 10 made three flyby passes in 1974 and 1975. MESSENGER, which is operated for NASA by the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns... [read full story]