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Planet

Mercury

Open in OuranosCompare its size

The smallest planet and the nearest the Sun; its year is 88 days.

Measured

Equatorial radius
2,441 km
From the Earth today
0.869 AU (130 million km)

How far, from the Earth

0.869 AU. To cross it:

  • Light7 minutes 14 seconds
  • Voyager 1's speed2.93 months
  • Driving at 100 km/h148 years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Spacecraft that went there

  • BepiColombo — Arriving at Mercury: orbit insertion planned for 2026-11-21, science from April 2027 (ESA, 2026).

Where this comes from

  • Planets, Pluto, the Moon and Jupiter's big moons: astronomy-engine (Don Cross, MIT). Other moons: JPL Planetary Satellite Mean Elements. Ceres, Eris, Haumea, Makemake: JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.