The planet in our solar system that life could have developed as on Earth

Life seems to have been possible on another planet in our solar system and, according to researchers, it would be about Mercury.

The first discovery in this regard was made just in 1974, when NASA’s Mariner 10 probe observed a cratered surface on the planet’s surface.

Now, a recent theory suggests that structures could have been formed from volatile substances: elements or compounds that pass very easily from the gaseous state to the liquid or solid state.

The basic idea is that volatile substances, a chemical category where water also enters, are essential for sustaining life, as we know it on Earth. Thus, their existence on the planet Mercury can mean that it can, in fact, sustain life.

Until now, the environment on the planet was described as completely inhospitable. We talk about temperatures high enough to melt lead, for example.

Now, a group of scientists from the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona is looking at the fragmented terrain of the planet better and the possibility of volatile substances here.

So far, the most plausible theory for the uneven surface of the planet was the earthquakes that resulted from the strong impact with an asteroid, which also created the Caloris basin, a massive crater on the planet’s surface.

Now, the new study suggests that this is not possible due to event synchronization. The researchers concluded that the fragmentation of the land on Mercury has persisted until about 1.8 million years ago, two million years after the Caloris basin was formed.

The researchers noted that some smaller relief formations exist on the planet, such as some craters, which have remained intact. They believe that if the earthquakes from the impact would have caused the craters to form, then these small relief formations would not have survived.

Thus, they argue that it is, in fact, about volatile substances in the basement of the planet that have been heated by magma and sublimated, passing directly from the solid state of aggregation to the gaseous state. The sudden loss of these materials would have led to cracks and crevices on Mercury’s surface.

Alexis P. Rodriguez, the leader of the study, also explains how he believes that these substances have resisted the planet, at the huge temperatures that define the environment there.

In the basement of the planet, temperatures would be more acceptable, and it seems that this is where they would have formed. However, the team cannot determine exactly what volatile substances were present on the planet.

In order to determine whether or not there were living conditions on Mercury, further studies are needed.