Mercury and Messenger Mission Quiz

What is the most surprising fact about Mercury?

• It has a highly eccentric orbit

• It has a disproportionately large core

• It has a very smooth surface

• It has a very thin atmosphere

What is the main reason why Mercury is the least explored of the rocky planets?

• It is too far from Earth

• It has extreme temperatures

• It has a very thin atmosphere

• It is difficult to get into orbit around it

How did the Messenger spacecraft control its speed to enter orbit around Mercury?

• By using solar sails

• By stepping from one planet to the next using their gravity

• By using a parachute

• By firing retro-rockets

What did the first image acquired from orbit around Mercury reveal?

• It showed evidence of water ice

• It looked exactly like expected

• It showed a highly volcanic surface

• It showed a smooth and featureless surface

What is the most cratered planet in the solar system?

• Venus

• Mercury

• Earth

• Mars

What did Messenger discover about Mercury's chemistry that was surprising?

• Presence of organic compounds on the surface

• High levels of water ice on the surface

• Presence of volatile chemical elements in high concentrations

• Lack of any chemical elements on the surface

What is the current theory about how Mercury may have formed?

• It formed from the collision of two other planets

• It formed much further from the sun and was pushed inwards

• It formed from the debris of a supernova explosion

• It formed in its current location

What happened to Messenger after it ran out of fuel?

• It was left in orbit around Mercury as a space station

• It was directed to crash into the surface of Mercury

• It was remotely controlled to fly back to Earth

• It was sent on a trajectory towards the sun

What is the main reason for Mercury's unusual size of its core?

• It was formed from a different type of material than other planets

• It was impacted by a large asteroid that removed its outer layers

• It was formed closer to the sun than other planets

• It was formed further from the sun than other planets

What did Messenger's evidence suggest about Mercury's early history?

• It was once much further from the sun and was pushed inwards

• It was once a gas giant that lost its outer layers

• It was once a habitable planet with liquid water

• It was once a moon of another planet before being captured by the sun