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One idea is to map Mercury's day side and then have a lander land on the previously mapped hemisphere when it is in the dark. If we have high resolution pictures of the surface, and some GPS, the lander could then remember the topography and its position so it would know where to land. Once on the surface a rover could be deployed with headlights to illuminate the surrounding terrain. A camera could follow a spotlight so as to take a picture of what is illuminated mapping the 360 degree terrain surrounding the rover. As for getting the probe there, a solar sail could be used, since this uses no propellant.
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Does mercury's surface features change any with its cycle of day to night and back again?
Sounds like a plan, so what would be the estimated cost for such a mission?
What would it fly on for a launcher?
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Probably the biggest one we've got. I'd recommend an SLS or a Falcon 9 heavy. I think a solar sail would be helpful for a sample return mission.
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We need to first answer the size of the rover and its power source for operation, the time of the mission duration to achive the goals, then we can figure out the full descent fueled lander to carry this rover to the surface and anyother features that we would want in the lander to aid the rovers capability. If it is to be a sample return then we need to look at what fuel would be the best for getting the samples back to earth.
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