What is this collection about?

With its thin, atmosphere-like exosphere and a magnetic field only about 1% as strong as Earth’s, Mercury presents a striking contrast to our home planet. Yet, our understanding of our system's innermost planet remains limited, as both observations from Earth and in situ exploration by spacecraft are significantly challenging.

With this cross-journal Collection, the editors at Nature Communications, Communications Earth & Environment, Communications Physics, and Scientific Reports invite submissions that advance our understanding of Mercury’s magnetosphere and exosphere, particularly through findings from space missions, as well as relevant theoretical and modelling studies.

Why is this collection important?

Mercury provides a unique natural laboratory for investigating planetary magnetospheres under extreme solar conditions. Despite progress from missions such as MESSENGER and ongoing observations from BepiColombo, many key questions about its plasma environment, magnetic field behaviour, and surface–exosphere interactions remain unresolved. Advancing knowledge in this area is essential for improving our broader understanding of planetary evolution, magnetospheric physics, and solar wind interactions across the Solar System.

Why submit to a collection?

Collections like this one help promote high-quality science. They are led by In-House Editors who are experts in their fields and supported by a dedicated team of Commissioning Editors and Managing Editors at Springer Nature. Collection manuscripts typically see higher citations, downloads, and Altmetric scores, and provide a one-stop-shop on a cutting-edge topic of interest.

Who is involved?

This is a cross-journal Collection involving Nature Communications, Communications Earth & Environment, Communications Physics, and Scientific Reports. Authors are welcome to submit to any of the participating journals. All manuscripts published in the collection are hosted on a dedicated nature portfolio portal, giving articles high visibility beyond the journal they are published in.

How can I submit my paper?

Visit the Collection page to find out more about this collection and submit your article.