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In spite of substantial advancements in simulating planet formation, theplanet Mercury's diminutive mass, isolated orbit, and the absence of planetswith shorter orbital periods in the solar system continue to befuddle numericalaccretion models. Recent studies have shown that, if massive embryos (or evengiant planet cores) formed early in the innermost parts of the Sun's gaseousdisk, they would have migrated outward. This migration may have reshaped thesurface density profile of terrestrial planet-forming material and generatedconditions favorable to the formation of Mercury-like planets. Here, wecontinue to develop this model with an updated suite of numerical simulations.We favor a scenario where Earth and Venus' progenitor nuclei form closer to theSun and subsequently sculpt the Mercury-forming region by migrating towardstheir modern orbits. This rapid formation of ~0.5 Earth-mass cores at ~0.1-0.5au is consistent with modern high-resolution simulations of planetesimalaccretion. In successful realizations, Earth and Venus accrete mostly dry,Enstatite Chondrite-like material as they migrate; thus providing a simpleexplanation for the masses of all four terrestrial planets, inferred isotopicdifferences between Earth and Mars, and Mercury's isolated orbit. Furthermore,our models predict that Venus' composition should be similar to the Earth's,and possibly derived from a larger fraction of dry material. Conversely,Mercury analogs in our simulations attain a range of final compositions.

Mercury as the relic of Earth and Venus' outward migration