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Topographic profile from MESSENGER's second flyby of Mercury

Topographic profile from MESSENGER's second flyby of Mercury
Topographic profile from MESSENGER's second flyby of Mercury Unlike MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby, during the second flyby the spacecraft was able to capture images and laser altimeter data simultaneously. The background image was acquired by MESSENGER just after its closest approach on October 6, 2008. The blue dots show the ground track of the spacecraft and indicate locations of individual laser altimeter "shots." The yellow dots show the derived undulations in topography. At the center of the image, the ground track passes over the southern portion of a 100-kilometer impact crater. It then passes over a similar-sized crater to the east whose topography is much more subdued; the center crater is four times deeper than the eastern crater. The eastern crater must have been filled in by later lava flows to create such a flat and shallow floor. NASA / JHUAPL / CIW / MIT