Date acquired: May 04, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 212983376
Image ID: 210557
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: -12.33°
Center Longitude: 331.2° E
Resolution: 309 meters/pixel
Scale: Kuiper is 62 km (39 miles) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 78.1°
Emission Angle: 28.0°
Phase Angle: 106.1°

Of Interest: The rayed crater Kuiper (11.3° S, 328.6° E), as seen by MESSENGER°s wide-angle camera. The smooth regions on Kuiper°s floor and to its south consist of rock that was melted by the impact that created the crater. This impact melt ponded and solidified as smooth plains. Kuiper is 62 km in diameter and is an important stratigraphic marker in Mercury's geologic history.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-resolution surface morphology base map. The surface morphology base map will cover more than 90% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of 250 meters/pixel (0.16 miles/pixel or 820 feet/pixel). Images acquired for the surface morphology base map typically have off-vertical Sun angles (i.e., high incidence angles) and visible shadows so as to reveal clearly the topographic form of geologic features.

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 is scheduled to acquire more than 75,000 images in support of MESSENGER's science goals.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

For information regarding the use of MESSENGER images, see the image use policy.