Why name a crater after Pablo Neruda?

Our planet is not a single entity separate from the rest of the universe. It is a living celestial body that is dependent on every other living thing. Earth was bombarded with meteorites and other particles, but through the shifting of continents and changing landscape of our planet, the damage is not apparent. While other planets have their scars exposed as craters. Craters on other planets and on our own Moon are clear examples of our connectivity and dependency with everything in the universe and of our own frailty. Much of Pablo Neruda's work deals with humanity's frailty and passion for life. He is one of our greatest poets and the people's poet.To honor him and his work, we have petitioned the International Astronomical Union to name a crater on Mercury after him. Why Mercury? There are strict naming conventions developed by the Union, and only craters on Mercury can be named after literary figures. For exampe, a crater located at 41.4N (Lat) and 110.4 (Long) on Mercury is named after Walt Whitman. We will announce the results of our petition when we learn more from the International Astronomical Union.

Mercury, the least explored terrestrial planet, is fundamental to understanding the evolution of the inner solar system. Visited by only one spacecraft, Mariner 10, it is a planet of superlatives, an "end-member" among the rocky planets. Its density (corrected for self-compression by gravity) is the highest of any planet. Its ancient surface records processes from the earliest part of planetary formation. Its exotic atmosphere is the thinnest among those of all the terrestrial planets. It is the only terrestrial planet besides Earth to possess a global magnetic field. And temperatures on this planet of fire and ice vary from nearly the highest in the solar system, at the equator, to among the coldest, in the permanently shadowed poles where paradoxically ice deposits seem to lurk.

MESSENGER will peel back Mercury's veil of mystery. MESSENGER is a MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging mission to orbit Mercury following two reconnaissance flybys. MESSENGER will investigate key science questions using an optimized set of miniaturized instruments: What is the origin of Mercury's high density? What are the composition and structure of its crust? What is Mercury's tectonic history, and is its surface shaped by volcanism? What are the characteristics of the thin atmosphere and miniature magnetosphere? And what is the nature of the mysterious polar caps? The scheduled launch is March 2004.