Archive · 20 May 2025
NASA Finds Water Ice on Mercury: An Unexpected Discovery
Imagine Mercury, a planet super close to the sun, and really hot.
Scientists thought there was no water there.
But using special tools, they found ice!
They looked at areas on Mercury that are always in shadow, like the bottoms of deep craters.
These spots are so cold that ice can survive.
They think the ice might have come from space rocks hitting Mercury or maybe even from water that came out of the planet itself.
This discovery helps scientists learn more about water in our solar system, showing that it can be found in unexpected places.
NASA scientists discovered water ice on Mercury, a planet with extreme temperatures.
The discovery was made during the MESSENGER mission in 2012.
Water ice was found in permanently shadowed polar regions inside craters.
Scientists used instruments like the Arecibo radio telescope to study radio signals.
Two theories exist for how ice got there: meteorites or water vapor release.
- Who
- NASA scientists made the discovery.
- What
- NASA scientists discovered water ice on Mercury.
- When
- The discovery was made in 2012, during NASA's MESSENGER mission.
- Where
- The water ice was found in the polar regions of Mercury.
- Why
- The discovery challenges the previous understanding of where water can exist in the solar system and how planets may retain water.
- Planet
- Mercury
- Discovery Year
- 2012
- Mission
- MESSENGER
- Location
- Mercury's poles
- Method
- Radio telescopes
- Temperatures
- Permanently cold shadows