This view is a close-up of an area featured in a previous Gallery image. The region is located diametrically opposite the Caloris impact basin, and has been affected by converging seismic waves or ejecta that caused the peculiar "hilly and lineated" texture. Members of the Mariner 10 team informally called this the "weird terrain" when it was first discovered in 1974.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-resolution surface morphology base map. The surface morphology base map will cover more than 90% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of 250 meters/pixel (0.16 miles/pixel or 820 feet/pixel). Images acquired for the surface morphology base map typically have off-vertical Sun angles (i.e., high incidence angles) and visible shadows so as to reveal clearly the topographic form of geologic features.

The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. Visit the Why Mercury? section of this website to learn more about the key science questions that the MESSENGER mission is addressing. During the one-year primary mission, MDIS is scheduled to acquire more than 75,000 images in support of MESSENGER's science goals.

Date acquired: August 02, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 220756231
Image ID: 581158
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -29.92°
Center Longitude: 342.0° E
Resolution: 235 meters/pixel
Scale:The scene is about 248 km (155 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 85.4°
Emission Angle: 19.3°
Phase Angle: 104.7°

These images are from MESSENGER, a NASA Discovery mission to conduct the first orbital study of the innermost planet, Mercury. For information regarding the use of images, see the MESSENGER image use policy.