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In November,
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Fresh data from the satellite offer the best evidence yet that frozen water lies exposed in dark craters near the north and south poles of the sun’s nearest neighbor. Even more ice might lie buried out of sight.
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The new evidence for ice on Mercury comes from a NASA spacecraft that has been orbiting the planet since March 2011. The satellite is named MESSENGER, which stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging.
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Scientists first detected the bright spots near Mercury’s poles in the 1990s,
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MESSENGER called a laser altimeter. This machine fires a laser beam at the planet’s surface and then measures how much of the light reflects back — and how long it takes.
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They also reveal the brightest spots on the planet. Ice appears especially reflective and bright to the instrument.
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Data collected by another instrument aboard MESSENGER, called a neutron spectrometer, provided additional evidence for the buried ice, which is blanketed by a mysterious dark material. MESSENGER’s photos show that the south pole has similar features — and probably also harbors ice.
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