Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

New Study Reveals Mercury's Core Secrets Ahead of BepiColombo Mission

9/26/2025

40 3

Summary

Story summary

Mercury may have formed from a grazing collision between two protoplanets of similar size, potentially stripping up to 60% of its mantle.
Mercury's core accounts for 70% of its mass, higher than Earth's or Mars' cores.
The study led by Patrick Franco used smoothed particle hydrodynamics.
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission, arriving in 2026, will study Mercury's core and magnetic fields.

1 of 1

Story summary

Mercury may have formed from a grazing collision between two protoplanets of similar size, potentially stripping up to 60% of its mantle.
Mercury's core accounts for 70% of its mass, higher than Earth's or Mars' cores.
The study led by Patrick Franco used smoothed particle hydrodynamics.
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission, arriving in 2026, will study Mercury's core and magnetic fields.