NASA MESSENGER Image of Mercury: Crater Juan de Mena

The small crater at the left side of this image is named for Juan de Mena, a Spanish poet of the 15th century. Mena has extensive bright rays, which can be better appreciated in the global map of Mercury (right on the equator, part way in from the left). Mena formed on the rim of an existing crater, which may help to explain the asymmetric pattern of Mena’s rays.

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.

Date acquired: April 19, 2011 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 211718303 Image ID: 151162 Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Center Latitude: -0.24° Center Longitude: 236.3° E Resolution: 254 meters/pixel Scale: The image is about 138 km (85 mi.) wide. Incidence Angle: 65.9° Emission Angle: 22.3° Phase Angle: 43.6° Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington. More images.