Mercury

I had rather be Mercury, the smallest among seven [planets], revolving round the sun, than the first among five [moons] revolving round Saturn.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Mercury is the smallest and closest planet to the sun in our solar system. Since, it is much closer to the sun that earth sunlight would look up to seven times brighter there! Although Mercury is close to the sun it is not the hottest planet which is Venus.

Explorer missions

- The first mission to explore Mercury was NASA’s Mariner 10

- The first to orbit Mercury was NASA’s MESSENGER

- The two spacecrafts ESA-JAXA BepiColombo are on their way to Mercury

Fun Facts

- One day on mercury (the time it takes for it to spin around itself) is 59 earth days

- One year on Mercury (the time it takes to orbit the sun) is only 88 earth days!

- Mercury has no moons or rings

- Mercury is known as a terrestrial planet because of its rocky surface

If you want to learn even more about Mercury check out this cool video from National Geographic:

We hope you enjoyed learning about Mercury. Make sure to check out some of our other articles!