Craters on Mercury Exposed in High-Resolution Multi-Color Image

The first spacecraft to ever orbit the planet Mercury, MESSENGER, shot this incredible image of the Solar System's innermost planet. The spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are currently unraveling the history and evolution of the tiny and barren planet.

This image features several craters near the eastern edge of the Caloris basin. The larger craters have excavated low reflectance material, and both have hollows forming within their floors.

Reddish deposits that exhibit a spectral signature similar to pyroclastics occur in the northeastern quadrant of this scene, suggesting that this region may have once been the site of explosive volcanism.

This image was acquired on October 24, 2013 as a targeted high-resolution 11-color image set. Acquiring 11-color targets is a new campaign that began in March 2013 and that utilizes all of the WAC's 11 narrow-band color filters. Because of the large data volume involved, only features of special scientific interest are targeted for imaging in all 11 colors.

During the first two years of orbital operations, MESSENGER acquired over 150,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is capable of continuing orbital operations until early 2015. -- NASA