Earth spaceports in Orbiter2016

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Revision as of 12:16, 11 June 2021 by Arvil (talk | contribs) (Mercury)
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Mercury is the closest planet in our Solar System to the Sun. Mercury is a barren, rocky planet that that is littered with craters. The solid ground and low gravity make it ideal for a spaceship landing. The planet to this date has only been visited by two unmanned probes probes.


Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system and is the closest to the sun. The orbital period is 87.975 days. The rotation of Mercury is tidally locked with the sun in a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance. So, an observer on Mercury would see one solar day every two Mercurian years. Mercury's axial tilt is only about 1/30°, and its orbital eccentricity is the largest of the eight planets at 0.20563.

Mercury is a rocky planet appearing much like the moon and has virtually no atmosphere (none is modeled in Orbiter), and has no natural satellites.

Mercury was visited in 1974 and 1975 by Mariner 10 in two flybys and was again visited by MESSENGER spacecraft orbiting Mercury from 2011 to 2015 when it was deorbited. There is a plan for the BepiColombo spacecraft to visit in 2025.

The stock Mercury in Orbiter 2016 has a large cone-shaped hole at the North Pole.