^1,2Anna-Irene Landi,³Cristian Carli,⁴Alessandro Maturilli,⁴Giulia Alemanno,⁴Océane Barraud,Fabrizio Capaccioni,²Giovanni Pratesi
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009382]
¹Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Trento, Trento, Italy,
²Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universitàdegli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy,
³INAF‐IAPS, Area della Ricerca Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy,
⁴Institute for SpaceResearch, German Aerospace Center DLR, Berlin, Germany
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Boninites are high‐magnesium volcanic rocks proposed as terrestrial analogs for Mercury’ssurface, based on elemental data from NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry andRanging (MESSENGER) mission. In this study, we investigated boninite samples from the Troodos Massif(Cyprus) using a multi‐methodological approach to characterize their mineralogical, chemical, andspectroscopic properties, including reflectance and emissivity spectra. Geochemical analyses confirm that thebulk composition of the samples closely matches Mercury’s geochemical terrains in terms of SiO2, MgO, andAl2O3 content, though FeO concentrations are higher (∼8 wt% vs. 1–2 wt%). Samples from different localitiesshow some mineralogical differences but generally contain less orthopyroxene and albitic plagioclase thanexpected on Mercury, along with hydrated minerals from aqueous alteration, which are not expected on theplanet’s surface. Reflectance spectra in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS), and near‐infrared (NIR) range showmajor absorption features around 1 μm, associated with mafic minerals, and minor bands at ∼1.4 μm, ∼1.9 μm,and 2.2–2.3 μm, linked to hydrated phases, with spectral variations reflecting mineralogical differences. In themid‐infrared (MIR) range and emissivity spectra, we observe Christiansen Features (CF) and ReststrahlenBands (RB) at different positions, mainly influenced by plagioclase content, and shifts in emissivity minimawith increasing temperature. Spectral differences between the boninites and Mercury mainly result from theintrinsic mineralogy of the samples. Nonetheless, Troodos boninites represent one of the best Mercury analogscurrently available on Earth, and understanding their spectral behavior in relation to their mineralogy couldsupport future investigations with the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission.