MESSENGER’s Mercury Maps
Indeed, our understanding of Mercury’s surface features and chemical structure has come a long way since the mid-1970s. Data acquired by MESSENGER’s seven scientific instruments allowed scientists to create highly detailed topographical and spectral maps of the planet. These are the most detailed views we have of Mercury, showing areas where lava once flowed and freshly formed craters, among many other geological features. And as MESSENGER also taught us, Mercury is shrinking.
