The low-iron, reduced surface of Mercury as seen in spectral reflectance by MESSENGER

Abstract

The MESSENGER spacecraft’s Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) obtained more than 1.6million reflectance spectra of Mercury’s surface from near-ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths during the first year of orbital operations. A global analysis of spectra in the wavelength range 300–1450nm shows little regional variation in absolute reflectance or spectral slopes and a lack of mineralogically diagnostic absorptions. In particular, reflectance spectra show no clear evidence for an absorption band centered near 1μm that would be associated with the presence of ferrous iron in silicates. There is, however, evidence for an ultraviolet absorption possibly consistent with a very low iron content (2–3wt% FeO or less) in surface silicates and for the presence of small amounts of metallic iron or other opaque minerals in the form of nano- or micrometer-sized particles. These findings are consistent with MESSENGER X-ray and gamma-ray measurements of Mercury’s surface iron abundance. Although X-ray and gamma-ray observations indicate higher than expected quantities of sulfur on the surface, reflectance spectra show no absorption bands diagnostic of sulfide minerals. Whereas there is strong evidence of water ice in permanently shadowed craters near Mercury’s poles, MASCS spectra provide no evidence for hydroxylated materials near permanently shadowed craters.