Date acquired: March 30, 2011
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -67.2°
Center Longitude: 305.9° E
Resolution: 150 meters/pixel
Scale: Spitteler has a diameter of 67 kilometers (42 miles)

Of Interest: This image is a mosaic of multiple images. North is toward the upper right corner. The crater on the left of the image is Spitteler, while the neighboring crater to the right extending out the top of the image is Holberg. Both craters were viewed by Mariner 10, but MESSENGER's polar orbit offers a new view of these craters and the surrounding terrain.

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.