Could We Colonize Mercury Using Sunshades and Heat Shields?

[newjerseyrunner]

Molecular[/PLAIN] Hydrogen on Mercury

Have a look at the list on the right-hand side of the page.

"Mercury's exospheric hydrogen and helium are believed to come from the Solar wind, while the oxygen is likely to be of crustal origin."

Read the actual wiki you posted. It stated very clearly that the hydrogen in the atmosphere came from the sun. That's atomic hydrogen, it even specifies that it's atomic later in the article. We know what kind of atoms come off of the sun, they are not molecules.

You also haven't responded to the following problems:
When will life get the nitrogen it requires?
How will life pull atoms into it with an atmosphere of 10^−14 bar of pressure?
Where would the oxygen come from (the amount in the air is not enough for a colony to exist)
How would it replace nutrients that it's already metabolized?
Where will it have liquid water to perform it's chemistry? Mercury has ice, not water, and at that pressure, it'll sublimate, not melt.

 

[Drakkith]

Thread locked for moderation.

 

[berkeman]

There have been too many personal assertions of fact without peer-reviewed journal articles offered as supporting references. The Mentor consensus is that this thread will remain closed.