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WHAT TO SEE
Caloris Basin
The most conspicuous feature on the planet is the Caloris Basin - a crater larger than the British Isles. A staggering 1300km (800 miles) across, it is one of the largest impact craters in the Solar System.
It was formed by a collision between Mercury and another rocky body. This explosive event must have happened early in the history of the planet, as the floor of the basin has been scarred by many more recent impacts.
To fully appreciate the scale of this incident you should also fly over the opposite side of the planet. Here you can still see the large rocky ridges caused by shock waves from this event.
 Read about the threat to Earth from asteroid impacts
SPOTTING MERCURY FROM EARTH
It is difficult to see Mercury from Earth. Being the closest planet to the Sun, it is often masked by the Sun's light. The best time to spot it is near sunrise or sunset, when it is out of the light.
Mercury is not visible at night because it's near the Sun. So when the Sun sets, so does Mercury.
On rare occasions, Mercury passes directly between the Sun and the Earth. When this happens it can be seen as a small spot on the Sun's surface.
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TRAVEL INFORMATION
Journey time · 5.5 Earth months
1 Mercurian year · 88 Earth days
Contacting home · Time lag = 920 seconds
Before you leave
Make sure that you are ready for all conditions. Mercury has the widest temperature range of any planet in the Solar System, from a chilly -173°C at night to a sizzling 350°C during the day.
When you arrive
The descent to Mercury is smooth. The planet has very little atmosphere so there is no chance of your ship burning up as you approach. But this means the planet has little protection against asteroids. So the surface is littered with craters of all sizes.
What little atmosphere there is consists of atoms blasted from the planet's surface by the solar wind. Mercury's tiny gravitational field is not large enough to hold these atoms in place. So the atmosphere is being continually regenerated as impacting asteroids kick up dust, which then gradually leaks out into space.
LOCAL HISTORY
The Romans named Mercury after their 'messenger of the gods' because the planet crossed the night sky so quickly. The Greeks referred to Mercury as 'Apollo' when it appeared in the morning sky and 'Hermes' when they spotted it in the evening.
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