In one of the studies of NASA from its Messenger spacecraft earlier it was revealed the closest planet of our solar system to sun has very old magnetic field.
In 2015 the Messenger encountered a devastating crash, but still the data made available was highly valuable.
The Messenger spacecraft was launched in 2004 and it flew by Mercury in 2008 for the first time. It started orbiting the planet in 2011.
The data reveals Mercury is surrounded by a 4 billion old magnetic field and this is more valuable as it will henceforth allow researchers to join pieces of its history together easily.
Before the Messenger mission very rare information was available with scientists about the planet.
In one of the statements NASA said the Messenger mission came very close to the planet between final quarter of 2014 and first quarter of 2015. The spacecraft was just 9 miles away from the surface. Prior to this the closest were 300 miles and 120 miles.
Flying close to the planet, the Messenger spacecraft’s magnetometer gathered some data about the magnetism of the rocks there and it suggested the existence of very old magnetic field. Scientists believe it may be between 3.7 billion and 3.9 billion years old. If this is true, the Mercury and Earth may have formed together, around 4.5 billion years ago.
NASA also adds that the presence of liquid iron in the core of Mercury may be the reason for magnetic field.