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In theory, we built a space station orbiting Mercury like the ISS on Earth. Will the magnetosphere of Mercury similarly protect humans from this radiation (despite being close to the sun)?

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  • $\begingroup$ The main message was about the magnetosphere of Mercury and its capabilities. The question of radiation protection was rather an example for comparison. For better understanding. $\endgroup$
    – NGC224
    Jul 27, 2020 at 7:35

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No. Mercury's magnetosphere has 1% of the strength of that of Earth, and Mercury is about 2.6 times closer to the Sun. Even Mars' magnetic field is stronger despite not coming from Mars' core. So humans can't survive in Mercury's orbit on an ISS-like space station. A better idea would be to land a crew on the night side of Mercury since Mercury's days and nights are very long.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you for your reply. $\endgroup$
    – NGC224
    Jul 27, 2020 at 7:37
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    $\begingroup$ Alternatively, they could be in one of Mercury's shadowed craters, which also have the advantage of abundant ice: nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/moon-mercury-ice. $\endgroup$
    – Pitto
    Jul 27, 2020 at 22:32

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