Perspective view of Mercury's north polar region with the radar-bright regions shown in yellow. New results presented today at the NASA News Conference provide compelling evidence that the radar-bright deposits are water ice. View a higher resolution perspective view of Mercury's north polar region here and a high resolution map view of the north polar region here.

Instrument: Wide Angle Camera of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)

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.