Mercury has been found depicting similar geological processes as of Earth. Scientists at NASA found evidence for Mercury being tectonically active just like Earth.

NASA’s robotic spacecraft, MESSENGER that entered the planet’s orbit the year 2011 has unveiled the planet’s pictures. The images sent by the spacecraft showed steep rock like structures on the planet which were never detected during past exploratory missions. The study findings have been published in journal Nature Geoscience.

The recent images of the planet propounds that both Earth and Mercury are tectonically active planets in the solar system, but still Mercury does not support life. The discovery of tectonic activity beneath the planet’s surface has sparked the interests amongst researchers to learn more about their presence. Although, Mercury has no tectonic plates, its crustal shrinking qualifies it to be a tectonically active.

“The young age of the small scarps means that Mercury joins Earth as a tectonically active planet, with new faults likely forming today as Mercury’s interior continues to cool and the planet contracts,” mentioned Tom Watters head researcher, National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

The scientists were aware of the fact that the smallest planet in the solar system is traumatized with deep gorges and rifts, since Mariner 10 probed the planet in 1970. It was NASA’s first spacecraft for planet Mercury. Still the recent findings have made researchers even more excited to study the planet’s sphere in detail.

MESSENGER’S images will encourage further studies to know more about how Mercury has evolved. As rightly said by the NASA’s planetary science director, Jim Green, it is the very reason we explore. It was never expected that the smallest planet would be one day found with active tectonic movements. Messenger was launched in 2004 by Delta II rocket to study the planet’s topography, chemical composition and magnetic field.