Explore / Multimedia
Images from MESSENGER
Highlights Collection   Global Mosaics   Featured Image Database

Highlights Collection

A select series of images highlighting MESSENGER's scientific discoveries and accomplishmentsFor information regarding the use of MESSENGER images and videos, see the image use policy.

Awesome Abedin

Awesome Abedin

A highly oblique view shows the features in Abedin crater.

Download Learn more
A Striking Perspective

A Striking Perspective

Carnegie Rupes, a large tectonic landform, cutting through Duccio crater

Download Learn more
Orange Is the New Blue

Orange Is the New Blue

The craters Poe, Sander, and Munch have excavated rocks once buried below Mercury's surface.

Download Learn more
The Ups and Downs of Mercury's Topography

The Ups and Downs of Mercury's Topography

The topography of Mercury's northern region, as mapped by MESSENGER's laser altimeter, show features such as volcanic plains and craters thought to host water ice.

Download Learn more
Mercury's Sodium Tail

Mercury's Sodium Tail

Mercury's sodium atmosphere forms a glowing, orange, comet-like tail. Find out how this happens in "Learn More."

Download Learn more
Showing Some Chemistry

Showing Some Chemistry

MESSENGER mapped Mercury's chemical composition and discovered striking regions of diversity.

Download Learn more
Gravity Anomalies

Gravity Anomalies

Certain areas of Mercury have more or less gravity than predicted. These gravity anomalies are mapped in color here.

Download Learn more
The Discovery of Hollows

The Discovery of Hollows

The peak ring of Raditladi basin is covered in strange, unexpected, and mysterious hollows.

Download Learn more
Unmasking the Secrets of Mercury

Unmasking the Secrets of Mercury

Measurements made in ultraviolet and infrared light reveal differences in surface materials which help to unravel Mercury's geologic story.

DownloadLearn more
Shadows in the South

Shadows in the South

Mercury's south pole hosts craters with permanent shadow. This is exciting due to evidence of water ice within such craters.

Download Learn more
High-Resolution Color View from Mercury Flyby 1

High-Resolution Color View from Mercury Flyby 1

Mercury as it appeared to MESSENGER following the mission's first flyby of Mercury

Download Learn more
Expansive Northern Volcanic Plains

Expansive Northern Volcanic Plains

Mercury's northern region is dominated by extensive volcanic plains.

Download Learn more
Mapping Potassium

Mapping Potassium

MESSENGER discovered higher amounts of potassium on Mercury's surface than predicted by some models.

Download Learn more
Mercury's Calcium Exosphere

Mercury's Calcium Exosphere

A model based on MESSENGER data produces a view of Mercury's calcium exosphere.

Download Learn more
Wrinkles on Mercury

Wrinkles on Mercury

A wrinkle ridge extends across Mercury's northern volcanic plains.

Download Learn more

Crazy Kertesz

Kertesz crater hosts an extensive system of hollows.

Download Learn more
Lowlands in Mercury's North

Lowlands in Mercury's North

This image shows a perspective view looking toward Mercury's north and colored by topographic height of the surface. Purple colors are the lowest and white is the highest.

Download Learn more
Flute Music

Flute Music

A high-resolution view inside a volcanic vent

Download Learn more
Colors of the Innermost Planet: View 1

Colors of the Innermost Planet: View 1

An enhanced color, global view of Mercury

Download Learn more
Water Ice on Mercury

Water Ice on Mercury

Mercury's shadowed polar craters provide evidence for hosting water ice.

Download Learn more
The Architect and His Temple

The Architect and His Temple

Apollodorus crater and the radiating troughs of Pantheon Fossae

Download Learn more
The Young Ones

The Young Ones

A high-resolution view of Mercury's hollows

Download Learn more
Hokusai Spectacular!

Hokusai Spectacular!

A mosaic of highly oblique images shows dramatic details of Hokusai crater.

Download Learn more
Fuller Revealed

Fuller Revealed

A view inside the permanent shadow of Fuller crater, where ice is thought to reside

Download Learn more
Caloris Basin - in Color!

Caloris Basin - in Color!

Caloris is the largest impact basin on Mercury.

Download Learn more
Enterprise Rupes

Enterprise Rupes

Enterprise Rupes, the longest fault scarp on Mercury

Download Learn more
A View to the Horizon

A View to the Horizon

A MESSENGER mosaic captures Mercury's horizon

Download Learn more
Highs and Lows of Goethe

Highs and Lows of Goethe

Goethe basin colored by topography

Download Learn more
Have a Gander at Sander

Have a Gander at Sander

Bright hollows dominate the floor of Sander crater.

Download Learn more
A Detailed Look at Raditladi Basin

A Detailed Look at Raditladi Basin

The relatively young Raditladi basin hosts hollows on its peak ring.

Download Learn more
Dramatic Darks of Derain

Dramatic Darks of Derain

Peak-ring basin Derain displays a striking diversity of surface materials.

Download Learn more
High-Resolution View from Mercury Flyby 3

High-Resolution View from Mercury Flyby 3

Mercury, as viewed by MESSENGER during the mission's third Mercury flyby

Download Learn more
The Mighty Caloris

The Mighty Caloris

A large mosaic of Caloris reveals details within the basin.

Download Learn more
Regard Rustaveli

Regard Rustaveli

The 200-kilometer-diameter Rustaveli crater and its ejecta field

Download Learn more
Mercury Globe: 0°N, 0°E

Mercury Globe: 0°N, 0°E

A global mosaic of Mercury from orbital images.

Download Learn more
The Colors of the Northern Plains

The Colors of the Northern Plains

Volcanic features dominate the region near Mercury's north pole.

Download Learn more
Overview of the Impact Region

Overview of the Impact Region

On April 30, 2015, the MESSENGER spacecraft impacted Mercury's surface in this region.

Download Learn more
Hot and Cold

Hot and Cold

Mercury's north polar region is colored by the maximum temperature experienced, showing some shadowed locations are cold enough to host water ice.

Download Learn more
High-Resolution Hollows

High-Resolution Hollows

A look at Mercury's hollows in unprecedented detail.

Download Learn more

Global Mosaics

MESSENGER mapped the planet Mercury under a range of lighting conditions, viewing geometries, spatial resolutions, and colors. Four of the most widely used global mosaic views are provided here in a standard image format. In the table below, the data used to produce these mosaics as well as the data for other global views of the planet are provided in formats frequently used by the scientific community. When downloading the mosaic files, please keep in mind that the file size for some of the high-resolution mosaics can be quite large. To access the colorized global digital elevation model (DEM) created from MESSENGER images, visit this USGS website. For information regarding the use of MESSENGER mosaics, see the image use policy.

Color Mosaic

This mosaic shows Mercury's colors as viewed by placing images from MESSENGER's 1000 nm, 750 nm, and 430 nm narrow-band filters in the red, green, and blue channel respectively. This is not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather by using a wider range of wavelengths, color differences on Mercury's surface can be accentuated beyond those visible to a person. Projection: simple cylindrical, centered on 0° latitude and 0° longitude. Download the full resolution, at 665 meters/pixel (761 MB).

Enhanced Color Mosaic Image

Enhanced Color Mosaic

This mosaic shows Mercury's surface in "enhanced color," a term used to describe a color scheme created to emphasize color differences on Mercury's surface. This is not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather by applying mathematical analysis to MESSENGER images, color differences on Mercury's surface can be accentuated beyond those visible to a person. This view uses a global mosaic with  430, 750, and 1000 nm bands and places the second principal component, the first principal component, and the 430/1000 ratio in the red, green, and blue channels respectively. Projection: simple cylindrical, centered on 0° latitude and 0° longitude. Download the full resolution, at 665 meters/pixel (422 MB).

Color Mosaic Image

Morphology Mosaic

This monochrome morphology mosaic uses images that contain moderate shadows and that consequently highlight the geologic features on Mercury's surface. During MESSENGER's mission, it was possible to acquire higher resolution monochrome images than color images, and hence this mosaic is available at a higher spatial resolution than the color mosaics. Projection: simple cylindrical, centered on 0° latitude and 0° longitude. Download the full resolution, at 166 meters/pixel (2.1 GB). Or download a version at 665 meters/pixel (193 MB), the same resolution as the color mosaics.

Morphology Mosaic Image

Low Incidence Angle Mosaic

This monochrome mosaic complements the morphology mosaic by using images that minimize shadows on the surface, and hence this monochrome mosaic highlights different reflectance properties of the materials on Mercury's surface. During MESSENGER's mission, it was possible to acquire higher resolution monochrome images than color images, and hence this mosaic is available at a higher spatial resolution than the color mosaics. Projection: simple cylindrical, centered on 0° latitude and 0° longitude. Download the full resolution, at 166 meters/pixel (1.9 GB). Or download a version at 665 meters/pixel (170 MB), the same resolution as the color mosaics.

Low Incidence Angle Mosaic Image

Mosaics in Scientific Data Formats

All of the files provided below were assembled by mosaicking products that are available in NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) from MESSENGER's PDS 16 delivery from May 12, 2017. The table below provides the full global mosaics in some formats commonly used by the scientific community. For additional information and details about each mosaic, or to produce formats that are not provided below, please visit the PDS website to access the full archived MESSENGER files and associated documentation. Additionally, all of the mosaics below can be explored interactively using ACT-REACT QuickMap.

PDS Mosaic Product

ISIS cubs1
(ppd: pixel per degree)

GeoTIFF2

8-color (MDR)

64 ppd (all backplanes) (17 GB)

64 ppd (all backplanes) (17 GB)

5-color (MP5)

128 ppd (all backplanes) (2.6 GB)

128 ppd (all backplanes) (2.6 GB)

3-color (MP3)

128 ppd (all backplanes) (21 GB)

128 ppd (all backplanes) (21 GB)

Moderate incidence angle (BDR)

256 ppd (image plane only) (16 GB)
43 ppd (all backplanes) (2.8 GB)

256 ppd (image plane only) (16 GB)
43 ppd (all backplanes) (2.7 GB)

Low incidence angle (LOI)

256 ppd (image plane only) (16 GB)
43 ppd (all backplanes) (2.8 GB)

256 ppd (image plane only) (16 GB)
43 ppd (all backplanes) (2.7 GB)

East illumination (HIE)

256 ppd (image plane only) (16 GB)
43 ppd (all backplanes) (2.8 GB)

256 ppd (image plane only) (16 GB)
43 ppd (all backplanes) (2.7 GB)

West illumination (HIW)

256 ppd (image plane only) (16 GB)
43 ppd (all backplanes) (2.8 GB)

256 ppd (image plane only) (16 GB)
43 ppd (all backplanes) (2.7 GB)

1 ISIS cubs are used with the USGS Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS)

2 GeoTIFF files are 32-bit and have NULL pixels with extreme values (see values and explanation here). This often results in the image appearing blank when using a default stretch. A manual stretch to relevant Mercury reflectance values is required; 0 to 0.2 is often a good starting point.

Featured Image Database

Click on each topic below to view relevant images and data.

Download a kml file with information about the images in the MESSENGER Featured Image Database.

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

2014_MESSENGER_Year_Review.png

3D (23)

mosaic.jpg

Alver (6)

2012_Year_Highlights.jpg

Amaral (9)

EW0263555194G.3band.mapped.crop.png

Atget (10)

EW1026540771G.3band.mapped.png

Bartok (9)

MESSENGER_tribute_collage.jpg

Basho (15)

MESSENGER_tribute_collage.jpg

Bek (7)

EN1034838972M.nomap.web.jpg

Berkel (13)

Mercury_Max_Surface_T.JPG

Berlioz (3)

EW0213198510G.web.png

Brahms (1)

EW0211981114G_SisterRay.map.jpg

Bronte (3)

caloris-perspective_w-text.jpg

Caloris (87)

724516_labeled.png

Camoes (5)

EN0241497908M.map.jpg

Carducci (2)

PRMESSENGERCraterResultsCompositeHiRes4-14-15.jpg

Carolan (1)

ThursdayOctober11th2012.png

Chekhov (2)

CarnegieRupes_perspective_2015.png

Color Images (209)

figure1_messenger_encke.png

Comets (5)

caloris_color.png

Crater Rays (153)

EN1026687033M.web2.jpg

Damer (1)

DarioCraterScarps.png

Dario (1)

First_and_Last.jpg

Debussy (25)

2013_Year_Highlights.jpg

Degas (19)

caloris-perspective_w-text.jpg

DEM/DTM (18)

Derain_300ppi_2015.png

Derain (15)

EW1026656707G.nomap.png

Dickens (2)

EW1045232490G.3band.nomap.png

Disney (5)

CarnegieRupes_perspective_2015.png

Duccio (2)

EW1026946160G.nomap.jpg

Durer (3)

15-01479_MESSENGER_38.jpg

Earth (26)

EW0215938633G_Enwonwu_map.png

Enwonwu (3)

solomon_shoemaker_lecture.png

EPPS (6)

EW0211937378G_9img-Collage.jpg

Erte (2)

Friday_September_19_2014.png

Firdousi (8)

150_Radar_North_Polar_oblique_2015.png

Fuller (2)

Friday_February_21.png

Geddes (6)

EN1022328501M_Khansa.map.jpg

Gibran (7)

Smoothed_K_Map_2015.png

GRNS (12)

Monday_January_19.png

Han Kan (8)

HokusaiOblique_2015.jpg

Hokusai (10)

EN1072505530M_tomorrow.nomap.png

Hollows (140)

EW0210935622G.3band.mapped.png

Homer (4)

Last_Image.jpg

Jokai (2)

2014_MESSENGER_Year_Review.png

Kertesz (13)

EW1028935228G.map.jpg

Kosho (2)

EW1017384139G.3band.mapped.png

Kuiper (24)

EN0213547274M-1.map.jpg

Larrocha (5)

EN0234915233M.map.jpg

Lennon (1)

EW1055468126G.3band.mapped.png

Lermontov (11)

solomon_shoemaker_lecture.png

MAG (10)

EN0231614646M.map.jpg

Magritte (3)

MASCS50Mono_2500.png

MASCS (40)

EN0223185654M.map.jpg

Matabei (8)

EN1026657614M.map.jpg

Mena (6)

caloris-perspective_w-text.jpg

MLA (41)

EW0248689502G.3band.mapped.png

Moody (4)

Oblique_Abedin_2015.png

Mosaics (143)

15-01479_MESSENGER_38.jpg

Movies (40)

EN1022999301M.nomap.jpg

Mozart (10)

EW1055468126G.3band.mapped.png

Navoi (4)

combined_basemap.2500mpp_ortho_0_180.png

Nawahi (4)

EN0251577944M.map.jpg

Neruda (7)

EN0220635824M.nomap.jpg

Oskison (5)

EN0220635824M.nomap.jpg

Pahinui (1)

708150.png

Petrarch (3)

EW0224718685G.3band.mapped.png

Picasso (10)

EN1071994228M.nomap.png

Pits (49)

EW0250134169G.map.jpg

Planitia (6)

polar45_mla_full.png

Polar (89)

EN0244000660M.map.jpg

Popova (1)

EW1055468126G.3band.mapped.png

Praxiteles (14)

150_Radar_North_Polar_oblique_2015.png

Prokofiev (13)

EW1010356502G.3band.mapped.png

Qi Baishi (11)

Raditladi_2015.jpg

Raditladi (17)

Monday_Nov_25.png

Rameau (3)

EW1064084344G.nomap.jpg

Rembrandt (31)

EN1026596630M_rimbaud.map.jpg

Rimbaud (1)

PRMESSENGERCraterResultsCompositeHiRes4-14-15.jpg

Rivera (1)

EN0239375379M_rude.map.jpg

Rude (1)

munch_sander_poe_PCA.png

Sander (11)

EN1071994228M.nomap.png

Scarlatti (6)

EN1023236906M.nomap.jpg

Schubert (3)

EW1047121901G.3band.mapped.png

Seuss (4)

EN0227297821M_Shelley.map.jpg

Shelley (1)

EW0264237830G.3band.nomap.png

Sher-Gil (6)

EN0263234346M.map.jpg

Sibelius (1)

EW0210677650G.3band.mapped.png

Sor Juana (1)

ThomasDolby_APL_MESSENGER.jpg

Stars (10)

EW0219733996G_Stieglitz.map.jpg

Stieglitz (4)

caloris-perspective_w-text.jpg

Tectonics (102)

EW1027346412G.nomap.png

Tolstoj (14)

EN0229624183M.nomap.jpg

Tyagaraja (6)

Angkor_mosaic_website.png

Vallis (7)

EW1014100380G_VanEyck.map.jpg

Van Eyck (2)

EN0213547274M-1.map.jpg

Velazquez (3)

vent_oblique.png

Vents (48)

Tuesday_September_10.jpg

Venus (8)

Image_080614.jpg

Verdi (4)

ImpactSite_black.jpg

Volcanism (195)

3_Color_web_image.jpg

Warhol (3)

2014_MESSENGER_Year_Review.png

Waters (7)

Image_062714.jpg

Xiao Zhao (10)

Mg_Al_globes_2015.png

XRS (9)