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user35272

Could a spacecraft orbit Mercurymake two stable orbits around Mercury at an altitude of three miles?

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user35272
user35272

Could a spacecraft orbit Mercury stable at an altitude of three miles?

Mercury has no atmosphere, just an exosphere. The highest mountain range on Mercury are the Caloris Montes, reaching up to 1.9 miles (3 km). What if a spacecraft tried to orbit Mercury at an altitude of 3 miles (4.8 km)? Since Mercury has no considerable atmosphere, would the spacecraft have a stable orbit? If no, why not? A similar question could be asked on the Moon which however wouldn't be a good example due to the extreme mascons of the Moon. Such a question could however work with Ceres and any other spherical celestial body without a considerable atmosphere too probably.