Messenger revealed that mercury s highly chemically reduced and unexpectedly volatile-rich composition is unique among the terrestrial planets and unlike any predictions of previously proposed…

This federal contract award is a $119,958.55 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to The Johns Hopkins University, a private non-profit research institution, for a study to develop a concept for a landed mission to the planet Mercury. The study will examine key payload and spacecraft design trades to determine the feasibility of a Mercury lander mission as a potential future New Frontiers-class mission. The study aims to guide consideration of such a mission for the 2023 Decadal Survey, drawing on advances in relevant technologies over the last decade. This effort is intended to maintain continuity in the exploration of Mercury following the MESSENGER mission and the upcoming BepiColombo investigation. The contract does not have a set-aside designation.

Messenger revealed that mercury s highly chemically reduced and unexpectedly volatile-rich composition is unique among the terrestrial planets and unlike any predictions of previously proposed hypotheses of the planet s origin. These surprising results have led to a reexamination of the planet s formation and history. As an end-member of terrestrial planet formation, mercury holds unique clues about the original distribution of elements in the earliest stages of the solar system and how planets (and exoplanets) form and evolve in close proximity to their host STARS. In situ measurements from the surface are needed to address fundamental science goals about mercury s origin, evolution, and ongoing processes. Our multidisciplinary science team has identified four main science goals that will guide a mission concept study of a landed mission to mercury: 1) investigate the highly chemically reduced, unexpectedly volatile-rich mineralogy and chemistry of mercury s oldest terrain type to understand the earliest evolution of this end-member of rocky planet formation. 2) investigate mercury s interior structure and magnetic field to unravel the planet's differentiation and evolutionary history and understand the magnetic fields at the surface. 3) investigate the active processes that produce mercury s exosphere and alter its surface to understand planetary processes on rocky airless bodies, including the moon. 4) characterize the landing site in order to understand the processes that have shaped its evolution, place the in situ measurements in context, and enable ground truth for global interpretations of mercury. We plan for a two- to three-week effort to perform a complete, end-to-end mercury lander mission concept study. This study will examine key payload and spacecraft trades, incorporating technology advancements over the last decade, to establish if a mercury lander mission is feasible as a new frontiers class mission, and therefore able to be considered for a new frontiers candidate mission list by the 2023 decadal survey. A decade is needed to go from project start to landing on mercury, including a cruise comparable in duration to an outer solar system mission. Performing a high-fidelity mercury lander mission concept study now enables proper consideration by the 2023 decadal survey, while the long lead time still allows a future proposal team to adapt to bepicolombo s orbital findings. Postponing a study until the 2030S would break the continuity of mercury exploration and lead to a multi-decade GAP between spacecraft visits to the planet. The active and engaged mercury community is ready to build upon the legacy of messenger and the forthcoming investigation by bepicolombo to address the next stage of mercury exploration by defining the framework for the first landed mission to the innermost planet.