planet · the Solar System
Mercury
The smallest planet and closest to the Sun, a cratered iron-rich world with almost no atmosphere.
- Type
- Planet
- Orbits
- the Sun
- Distance
- in the Solar System
- Diameter
- about 4,879 km
About Mercury
- A year on Mercury lasts just 88 Earth days.
- Surface temperatures swing from about −180 °C at night to 430 °C in the day.
- NASA's MESSENGER mapped it from orbit, and the ESA–JAXA BepiColombo mission is on its way.
Visit Mercury in VR
In IKAREE, Mercury is one of 31 destinations modelled in detail. Sit in the captain's chair, give the order and watch it grow on the main viewscreen. Then send a survey probe and ride its camera down, or ask your science officer what the sensors show.
How to get there
- CaptainHelm, set a course for Mercury. Full impulse.
- Brooks · HelmCourse laid in for Mercury, Captain.
- CaptainScience, full analysis of Mercury.
- Hart · ScienceRunning it now, Captain.
