NASA MESSENGER Image of Mercury: Interior of the Rembrandt Impact Basin

Of Interest: The long scarp trending vertically on the left-side of this image is located in the interior of the large 715-kilometer diameter Rembrandt impact basin. The interior of Rembrandt hosts not only this compressional scarp but also a set of radial extensional troughs. View these links to see Rembrandt in color or in 3D.

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. Larger image

Date acquired: February 07, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 237089673
Image ID: 1363507
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -35.48°
Center Longitude: 82.5° E
Resolution: 210 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is approximately 210 kilometers (130 miles) across
Orientation: North is toward the upper left corner
Incidence Angle: 62.5°
Emission Angle: 36.9°
Phase Angle: 78.1°