Last Reviewed and Updated on June 30, 2022
Have you ever imagined traveling to other planets in our Solar System? Standing on their surface… Lets’s take a look at the first planet in our Solar System. What is the surface like on Mercury? Can it be compared to something else? Would you be able to freely stand on it?
What is the Surface Like on Mercury?
Mercury is one of the planets with a surface that is the easiest to imagine. The surface of the planet looks much like that of the Earth’s Moon in many ways.
It is a terrestrial planet, which means it’s mostly made out of rocky materials. Much like the moon, this planet’s surface is heavily crated. Like the Moon, it also has smooth plains as well.
Both the Moon and Mercury have evidence of past volcanic activity. The volcanic activity of Mercury is more recent (still extinct) with larger volcanoes discovered.
Both the Moon and Mercury have icy deposits on their poles.
As for the color of the surface? The color of Mercury is primarily gray (from light gray to dark gray).
Both Mercury and Moon have very thin, close to nonexistent, atmospheres.
The different composition of the surface
While at first glance, the surface of the planet Mercury is much like the surface of the Moon. The composition of the crust is different.
Mercury has a higher ratio of magnesium and silicon in the crust. It is also much richer in sulfur and some other volatile elements.
Can you stand on the surface of Mercury?
As Mercury is a solid rocky planet, yes you would be able to stand on the surface of Mercury. The gravity is strong enough to keep you on the surface.
The gravity is weaker than on Earth. Walking on the planet would be closer to jumping.
If you were to jump on Mercury, you would jump quite a bit higher than if you would jump on Earth. But no matter how high you jumped, you wouldn’t drift away into space. The planet’s gravity would still pull you back. Pretty cool, right?