On March 5 we saw an area to the west of Caloris. Today we travel to the east of the basin, another area that is thought to be related to ejecta from the Caloris basin impact event. The knobs and unusual corrugated texture are part of Odin Planitia and may have formed from ejecta and impact melt. Schiaparelli Dorsum, nearly aligned with the terminator (the division between the dayside and night side of the planet), cuts across the scene from top to bottom.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-incidence-angle base map. The high-incidence-angle base map complements the surface morphology base map of MESSENGER's primary mission that was acquired under generally more moderate incidence angles. High incidence angles, achieved when the Sun is near the horizon, result in long shadows that accentuate the small-scale topography of geologic features. The high-incidence-angle base map was acquired with an average resolution of 200 meters/pixel.

Date acquired: July 07, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 250134169
Image ID: 2154159
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 24.83°
Center Longitude: 195.2° E
Resolution: 228 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is approximately 400 km (250 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 88.8°
Emission Angle: 53.2°
Phase Angle: 142.0°

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. MESSENGER acquired over 150,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is capable of continuing orbital operations until early 2015.

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