PlanetarySeminar: The Geochemistry of Mercury: Results from MESSENGER and Lessons Learned for BepiColombo

At 14:00 on Wednesday Novembers 3rd, 2021, Dr Larry Nittler from the Carnegie Institution for Science will be presenting a seminar titled: “The Geochemistry of Mercury: Results from MESSENGER and Lessons Learned for BepiColombo”. The seminar will be accessible via Teams.

Abstract: “The MESSENGER spacecraft returned a wealth of data over its four-year orbital mission at Mercury. Remote-sensing X-ray, Gamma-ray, and neutron spectroscopy were all used to map the surface composition of key rock-forming elements across the planet’s surface. The surface was found to be volatile-rich and chemically reduced, with important implications for the still-enigmatic origin of the innermost planet. This talk will present the MESSENGER geochemical results and their implications, with a focus on the X-ray Spectrometer data, and discuss lessons learned and expectations for similar measurements to be carried out with the MIXS instrument on BepiColombo once that mission reaches Mercury in late 2025.”