This image, taken with the Wide Angle Camera (WAC), shows the outer rim and inner peak ring of Raditladi basin. The basin's smooth floor and well-preserved peak ring structure indicate that Raditladi is relatively young. The concentric troughs along the floor near the basin's center formed by extension (pulling apart) of the surface and are similar to those seen in Caloris basin and Rembrandt basin. The bright areas around the peak ring are an excellent example of hollows, shallow depressions that may have been formed by the loss of volatile materials.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-resolution stereo imaging campaign. Images from the stereo imaging campaign are used in combination with the surface morphology base map or the albedo base map to create high-resolution stereo views of Mercury's surface, with an average resolution of 200 meters/pixel. Viewing the surface under the same Sun illumination conditions but from two or more viewing angles enables information about the small-scale topography of Mercury's surface to be obtained.

Date acquired: December 17, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 264246178
Image ID: 3157599
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 26.29°
Center Longitude: 119.1° E
Resolution: 228 meters/pixel
Scale: Raditladi basin has a diameter of 257 kilometers (160 miles)
Incidence Angle: 36.9°
Emission Angle: 9.0°
Phase Angle: 45.9°

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 acquired 88,746 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is now in a year-long extended mission, during which plans call for the acquisition of more than 80,000 additional images to support MESSENGER's science goals.

For information regarding the use of images, see the MESSENGER image use policy.