At the Conference of Lunar and Planetary Sciences, scientists presented surprising conclusions about the surface of Mercury. In their opinion, the shell of the smallest and closest planet to the Sun in the Solar System may contain up to 16 quadrillion tons of diamonds.
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Experts believe that the shell Mercurymade mainly of graphite, it can transform into diamonds when struck by an asteroid or comet.
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A pressure wave from asteroids or comets hitting the surface at speeds of tens of kilometers per second can turn this graphite into diamonds, explained Kevin Cannon, a geologist at the Colorado School of Mines at the conference.
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Mercury can be an extremely valuable planet
Cannon noted, however, that these are not diamonds in the form of large gemstones, which are used, for example, to create jewelry. They are more like “small cloudy diamonds used in industry as abrasives.”
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The discovery requires confirmation during further research, but it is not known if and when this will be possible. Mercury is a planet difficult to study because of its location in Solar system (it is closest to the Sun), as well as the extreme conditions prevailing there. The planet has no atmosphere, has numerous impact craters, and the surface temperature ranges from −173 to 427 degrees C.
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As Interesting Engineering points out, so far only two NASA missions MESSENGER and Mariner have made detailed observations of the planet, thanks to which it was possible to expand knowledge about Mercury. Another BepiColombo mission, carried out by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), is likely to take place in late 2025. According to Cannon, there is a chance that it will “detect diamonds in surface materials”.
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It is worth noting that this will be the first mission consisting of two space probes. The devices will perform complementary measurements of Mercury and its dynamic environment.
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See also: Under the Sahara there is a huge water reservoir. It is like the seven Baltics
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