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PIA14078: First Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) Results from Orbit
First Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) Results from Orbit
 Target Name:  Mercury
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  MESSENGER 
 Spacecraft:  MESSENGER
 Instrument:  MLA 
 Product Size:  1200 x 711 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Johns Hopkins University/APL 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA14078.tif (2.563 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA14078.jpg (83.89 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

This figure shows altimetric profiles obtained on 29 March during the first two successive MESSENGER orbits on which the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) instrument was operating. Elevation is indicated by both the vertical scale and the color coding. The profile for the second orbit has been offset by 3 km for clarity. The profiles cross a variety of terrains, including a number of impact craters.

On March 17, 2011 (March 18, 2011, UTC), MESSENGER became the first spacecraft ever to orbit the planet Mercury. The mission is currently in its commissioning phase, during which spacecraft and instrument performance are verified through a series of specially designed checkout activities. In the course of the one-year primary mission, the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation will unravel the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. Visit the Why Mercury? section of this website to learn more about the science questions that the MESSENGER mission has set out to answer.

Date Acquired:March 29, 2011
Instrument: Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA)

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.

Image Credit:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/MIT/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Image Addition Date:
2011-03-30