This image shows a southern portion of the Mendelssohn impact basin. The smooth plains in the top (north) half of the image contrast sharply with the rugged, heavily cratered geological unit that forms the basin rim. The smooth plains were formed by eruption of highly fluid lavas that covered the basin floor. The Sun was low on the horizon when the image was captured, and the resulting shadows reveal the presence of ridges in the plains that mark the rims of impact craters buried by the lavas.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-resolution surface morphology base map. The surface morphology base map covers more than 99% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of 200 meters/pixel. Images acquired for the surface morphology base map typically are obtained at off-vertical Sun angles (i.e., high incidence angles) and have visible shadows so as to reveal clearly the topographic form of geologic features.

Date acquired: December 05, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 231567383
Image ID: 1097256
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 67.16°
Center Longitude: 99.57° E
Resolution: 95 meters/pixel
Scale: The scene is about 124 km (77 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 86.3°
Emission Angle: 37.5°
Phase Angle: 123.9°

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.