Victoria Rupes

This image is a portion of the MDIS global mosaic basemap that was acquired during MESSENGER's first year in orbit. The scene, with north to the right, shows a geological feature termed Victoria Rupes -- a long cliff or scarp that formed when Mercury shrank slightly as its core cooled. Rupes on Mercury are named for ships of discovery, and Victoria Rupes is named for the Victoria that formed part of Ferdinand Magellan's fleet in his 1519-1522 effort to circumnavigate Earth.

This geologic feature is of particular interest to MESSENGER scientists because it is part of a larger, linear set of contractional structures that may correspond to what is termed a fold-and-thrust (FAT) belt on Earth. FAT belts are common terrestrial surface features, and form when the crust is shortened due to compressional tectonism. Identifying FAT belts on Mercury will help scientists understand in more detail how that planet's crust has deformed through time.

Date Created: February 10, 2012
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Latitude Range: 47° N to 59° N
Longitude Range: 321° E to 331° E
Resolution: 250 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater just left of center is approximately 42 km (26 mi.) in diameter
Projection: Azimuthal equidistant

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington