Center Latitude: 31°
Center Longitude: 163° E
Scale: Caloris basin has a diameter of 1,550 kilometers (960 miles)
Reference: From abstract #1722 by Paul K. Byrne and coauthors at the
43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Of Interest: The large
Caloris basin hosts a wide variety of tectonic features, including
graben,
ridges, and
Pantheon Fossae. MESSENGER team members are in the process of mapping the tectonic features within the Caloris basin and deciphering their
complicated relationships. The tectonic map shown here was published in the abstracts of the
43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, which is being held this week in The Woodlands, Texas. In total, MESSENGER team members
are presenting 57 papers at this conference.
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, MESSENGER acquired 88,746 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is now in a yearlong extended mission, during which plans call for the acquisition of more than 80,000 additional images to support MESSENGER's science goals.
Credit: Byrne et al. (2012). A tectonic survey of the Caloris basin, Mercury. 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, Texas, abstract #1722.
For information regarding the use of MESSENGER images, see the image use policy.