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Outlining MESSENGER’s New Imaging Coverage
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Caption:
MESSENGER imaged Mercury's partially sunlit surface on its approach to the planet yesterday. This WAC image reveals approximately an additional 5% of the surface (outlined in red) that had been previously unseen by spacecraft. Among the many newly imaged surface features are impact craters, smooth plains, and an intriguing double-ring basin approximately 260 kilometers (125 miles) in diameter. Rembrandt basin straddles Mercury's terminator (along the right side of the image).
Date Acquired:
September 29, 2009
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET):
162741055
Instrument:
Wide Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC Filter:
7 (750 nanometers)
Resolution:
4.8 kilometers/pixel (3.0 miles/pixel)
Scale:
Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles)
Spacecraft Altitude:
26,900 kilometers (16,700 miles)
Background Info:
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 .
Cataloging Keywords:
| Name | Value | Additional Values |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Mercury | |
| System | ||
| Target Type | Planet | |
| Mission | MESSENGER | |
| Instrument Host | MESSENGER | |
| Host Type | Orbiter | |
| Instrument | Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) | |
| Detector | Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) | |
| Extra Keywords | Color, Crater, Impact | |
| Acquisition Date | ||
| Release Date | 2009-09-30 | |
| Date in Caption | 2009-09-29 | |
| Image Credit | NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington | |
| Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12268 | |
| Identifier | PIA12268 | |
