The crater Apollodorus has received quite a bit of attention from scientists because it sits within the Caloris Basin and on top of the prominent Pantheon Fossae. This image is particularly interesting because it shows the variations in composition as a result of the impact. The dark blue material in Apollodorus was excavated from depth as the crater formed.

This image was acquired as a high-resolution targeted color observation. Targeted color observations are images of a small area on Mercury's surface at resolutions higher than the 1-kilometer/pixel 8-color base map. During MESSENGER's one-year primary mission, hundreds of targeted color observations were obtained. During MESSENGER's extended mission, high-resolution targeted color observations are more rare, as the 3-color base map is covering Mercury's northern hemisphere with the highest-resolution color images that are possible.

Date acquired: December 09, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 263526410, 263526430, 263526414
Image ID: 3106352, 3106357, 3106353
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filters: 9, 7, 6 (996, 748, 433 nanometers) in red, green, and blue
Center Latitude: 30.82°
Center Longitude: 163.1° E
Resolution: 208 meters/pixel
Scale: Apollodorus is 41.5 km (25.8 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 30.9°
Emission Angle: 49.8°
Phase Angle: 78.4°

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.