Mercury may have harbored an ancient magma ocean Massive lava
flows may have given rise to two distinct rock types on
Mercury’s surface. February 22, 2013 By analyzing Mercury’s
rocky surface, scientists have been able to partially
reconstruct the planet’s history over billions of years. Now,
drawing upon the chemical composition of rock features on the
planet’s surface, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) in Cambridge have proposed that Mercury may
have harbored a large, roiling ocean of magma early in its
history, shortly after its formation about 4.5 billion years
ago. United States Geological Survey The scientists analyzed
data gathered by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment,
GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER), a NASA probe that has
orbited the planet since March 2011. Later that year, a group of
scientists analyzed X-ray fluorescence data from the probe and
identified two distinct compositions of rocks on the planet’s
surface. The discovery unearthed a planetary puzzle: Wh