~ -5,631 Minimum ~ 4,676 Maximum

ELEVATION IN METERS

0

1,000

–5,000

–4,000

–3,000–2,000

–1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

–6,000

2000 1000 500 0 500 1000 2000 KILOMETERS

0

20

40

57

0

20

40

57

SCALE 1:20,000,000 (1 mm = 20 km) AT 56° LATITUDE

MERCATOR PROJECTION

West longitude (planetographic) coordinate system shown in black.

East longitude (planetocentric) coordinate system shown in red.

SOUTH POLAR REGION

1000 500 0 500 1000 KILOMETERS

-90

-70

-55

-90

-70

-55

SCALE 1:12,157,366 (1 mm = 12.157366 km) AT 56° LATITUDE

POLAR STEREOGRAPHIC PROJECTION

West longitude (planetographic) coordinate system shown in black.

East longitude (planetocentric) coordinate system shown in red.

SCALE 1:12,157,366 (1 mm = 12.157366) AT 56° LATITUDE

POLAR STEREOGRAPHIC PROJECTION

West longitude (planetographic) coordinate system shown in black.

East longitude (planetocentric) coordinate system shown in red.

1000 500 0 500 1000 KILOMETERS

90

70

55

90

70

55

NORTH POLAR REGION

Praxiteles

CALORIS

PLANITIA

Rembrandt

Hafiz

Rustaveli

Raditladi

Mozart

Sveinsdóttir

Rachmaninoff

SOBKOU

PLANITIA

BUDH

PLANITIA

Beethoven

Sanai

Vyāsa Shakespeare

Dostoevskij

Tolstoj

Raphael

Homer

Eyck

Van Monet

Hugo

Haydn

Rodin

Wren

Michelangelo

Renoir

Vivaldi

Vieira da Silva

STILBON PLANITIA

MEARCAIR

 

 PLANITIA

 

APĀRANGI

 PLANITIA

CATUILLA 

PLANUM

PAPSUKKAL

PLANITIA

TURMS

PLANITIA

OTAARED

PLANITIA

SIHTU

PLANITIA

LUGUS

PLANITIA

Highest Point

(4,676 m)

ODIN

PLANITIA

TIR

PLANITIA

BOREALIS

 PLANITIA

Aneirin

180°W

180°E

30°W

330°E

60°W

300°E

90°W

270°E

120°W

240°E

150°W

210°E

180°W

180°E

0°W

360°E

210°W

150°E

240°W

120°E

270°W

90°E

300°W

60°E

330°W

30°E

57°

50°

30°

0°

–30°

–50°

–57°

57°

50°

30°

0°

–30°

–50°

–57°

180°E

180°W

330°E

30°W

300°E

60°W

270°E

90°W

240°E

120°W

210°E

150°W

180°E

180°W

360°E

0°W

150°E

210°W

120°E

240°W

90°E

270°W

60°E

300°W

30°E

330°W

North

South

West

East

+

Bach

Pushkin

Cervantes

U T A R I D I P L A N

I

T

I

A

U T A R I D I P L A N

I

T

I

A

–55°

–55°

–60°

–60°

–70°

–70°

–80°

–80°

0°E

360°W

180°W

180°E

300°E

60°W

330°E

30°W

30°E

330°W

60°E

300°W

270°W

90°E

240°W

120°E

210°W

150°E

150°W

210°E

120°W

240°E

90°W

270°E

Lowest Point

(-5,631 m)

Prokefiev

Goethe

Mendelssohn

P

L

A N

I

T

I

A

B

O

R

E A

L

I

S

P

L

A N

I

T

I

A

B

O

R

E A

L

I

S

SUISEI

PLANITIA

STILBON

 PLANITIA

+

180°E

180°W

0°W

360°E

55°

55°

60°

60°

70°

70°

80°

80°

240°E

120°W

210°E

150°W

150°E

210°W

120°E

240°W

270°W

90°E

300°W

60°E

330°W

30°E

30°W

330°E

60°W

300°E

90°W

270°E

SPACECRAFT AND INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION

This map is based on data acquired by the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS; Hawkins 

and others, 2009) and Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA; Cavanaugh and others, 2007) instruments 

on the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, 

GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft (Solomon and others, 2007). MDIS 

consists of two cameras, a wide angle camera (WAC) and a narrow angle camera (NAC). The 

WAC is a 4-element refractive telescope having a focal length of 78 millimeters (mm) and a 

collecting area of 48 mm2. A 12-position filter wheel provides color imaging over the spectral 

range of the charge-coupled device (CCD) detector. Eleven spectral filters spanning the range 

from 395 nanometers (nm) to 1,040 nm are defined to cover wavelengths diagnostic of different 

surface materials. The twelfth position is a broad-band filter for optical navigation (Denevi and 

others, 2016). The NAC is an off-axis reflective telescope with a 550-mm focal length and a 

collecting area of 462 mm2. The NAC has an identical CCD detector with a single medium-band 

filter (100 nm wide), centered at 750 nm to match to the corresponding WAC filter 7 (or G filter) 

for monochrome imaging (Hash and others, 2015). The MLA instrument uses a laser to measure 

the distance between the spacecraft and the surface. As a bi-static system (transmitter and 

receiver), the transmitter generates a brief laser pulse and the time is measured for the light to 

reach the surface and return into the receiver. This allows for accurate topographic 

measurements, with respect to Mercury’s center of mass, even into completely shadowed regions 

(Sun and Neumann, 2015).

MAP DESCRIPTION

The topographic shaded-relief maps shown here were derived from two independently 

created digital elevation models (DEMs). The equatorial and south pole DEMs were generated 

from a sparse control network derived from MDIS WAC and NAC image-to-image feature-based 

matching (Becker and others, 2016). The north pole map was created by interpolating a DEM 

from dense MLA range measurements (fig. 1, Zuber and others, 2012).

Using the Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS3) image processing 

system (Sides and others, 2017) and 176,352 observations from MDIS NAC and wide-angle 

camera-G (WAC-G), a global DEM of Mercury was derived (Becker and others, 2016). The 

DEM was created with a least-squares bundle adjustment of common features, measured as 

tie-point coordinates in overlapping NAC and WAC-G filter images (Edmundson and others, 

2012). Because the NAC and WAC-G observations were acquired with a large range of 

geometric and illumination characteristics, new methods were developed in ISIS3 to overcome 

these challenges. This new approach utilized unsupervised image-to-image feature-based 

matching and control techniques that are well suited for scaling and distribution across compute 

cluster environments (Becker and others, 2016).

From the 176,352 images, we selected a subset limited by pixel scale (75 to 800 meters per 

pixel; 64,986 NAC and 37,091 WAC-G images) and successfully controlled 100,432 images 

(63,536 NAC, 36,896 WAC-G) to sub-pixel accuracy (0.86 average pixel residual from the 

bundle adjustment). The final global control network contained 12,596,336 control points and 

94,745,475 tie-point measurements. From this control network, a global DEM was interpolated at 

64 pixels per degree (665 meters per pixel). During the interpolation step, for each DEM pixel, 

11 points were selected and a 1.0-standard-deviation filter centered about the median radius was 

applied to eliminate outliers. The median radius was then selected from the remaining points as 

the output DEM radius value, and finally a series of averaging filters smoothed the final DEM 

(Becker and others, 2016). The lowest point of the MDIS-derived DEM occurs in the bottom of 

Rachmaninoff crater (crater at lat 27.66° N., long 302.63° W., and the highest point occurs at lat 

8.73° S., long 241.24° W.).

MLA, primarily in the northern hemisphere, acquired more than 26 million measurements of 

Mercury’s surface. The individual MLA footprints are ~80 meters (m) in diameter and on average 

are spaced ~350 to 450 m along track. The radial precision of individual measurements is <1 m, 

and the accuracy with respect to Mercury’s center of mass is better than 20 m (Zuber and others, 

2012). From these topographic measurments, despite larger coverage gaps poleward of lat 84° N., 

a high-precision DEM was created using a spline tension interpolation within the Generic 

Mapping Tool suite at 500 meters per pixel. In contrast to the MDIS-derived DEM, the lowest 

point in the MLA-derived DEM is found in Prokofiev crater (lat 85.46° N., long 296.21° W.). 

The MLA data does confirm the general location for the MDIS-derived highest point, although a 

prominent portion of the Raditladi crater rim (lat 30.36° N., long 243.19° W.) may exceed the 

MDIS-derived height (G.A. Neumann, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, written commun., 

2018). Precise global laser altimetric coverage awaits completion by future missions.

PROJECTION

The Mercator projection is used between latitudes ±57°, with a central meridian at 0° 

longitude and latitude equal to the nominal scale at 0°. The polar stereographic projection is used 

for the regions north of the +55° parallel and south of the –55° parallel, with a central meridian 

set for both at 0° and a latitude of true scale at +90° and –90°, respectively. The adopted spherical 

radius used to define the map scale is 2439.4 km (Perry and others, 2015).

COORDINATE SYSTEM

The orientation model for Mercury has been updated using improved pole position and 

short-period longitude libration data from Margot (2009). The International Astronomical Union 

(IAU) Working Group, since its original report (Davies and others, 1980), continues to 

recommend the use of the crater Hun Kal (which means “twenty” in the Mayan language) to 

define the 20° west longitude meridian. Therefore, the value of the prime meridian (W0) used 

previously (W0 = 329.548°; Robinson and others, 1999) but corrected for libration terms at 

J2000.0 results in a new recommended value of W0 = 329.5988° (Stark, 2016).

Longitudes are shown in both positive West (shown in black) and East (shown in red). 

Positive West is the default longitude system recommended by the IAU (Archinal and others, 

2011), but positive East has been used for all MESSENGER map products.

MAPPING TECHNIQUES

The topographic shaded-relief maps were generated from the original MDIS- and 

MLA-based DEMs with a sun angle of 45° from horizontal and a Sun azimuth of 270°, as 

measured clockwise from north, with no vertical exaggeration. The DEM values were then 

mapped to a global color look-up table, with each color representing a range of 1 km of elevation. 

The shaded-relief and color files were then merged and scaled to 1:20,000,000 for the Mercator 

portion and 1:12,157,366 for the two polar stereographic parts with a resolution of 300 pixels per 

inch. The two projections have a common scale at ±56° latitude.

NOMENCLATURE

Feature names on this sheet have been approved by the IAU. All features greater than 200 

km in diameter or length were included unless they were not visible at the printed map scale. 

Some selected well-known features less than 200 km in diameter or length were also included. 

For a complete list of the IAU-approved nomenclature for Mercury, see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature at https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The collection of data used in the production of this map was made possible by NASA, the 

MESSENGER mission, and the Mercury Digital Imaging System and Mercury Laser Altimeter 

teams. Costs of map production and publication were funded by a NASA and U.S. Geological 

Survey Interagency Agreement. 

REFERENCES CITED

Acton, C.H., 1996, Ancillary Data Services of NASA’s Navigation and Ancillary Information 

Facility: Planetary and Space Science, v. 44, no. 1, p. 65–70, https://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/.

Archinal, B.A. (chair), A’Hearn, M.F., Bowell, E., Conrad, A., Consolmagno, G.J., Courtin, R., 

Fukushima, T., Hestroffer, D., Hilton, J.L., Krasinsky, G.A., Neumann, G., Oberst, J., 

Seidelmann, P.K., Stooke, P., Tholen, D.J., Thomas, P.C., and Williams, I.P., 2011, Report of 

the IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements—2009: 

Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, v. 109, no. 2, p. 101–135, 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-010-9320-4.

Becker, K.J., Robinson, M.S., Becker, T.L., Weller, L.A., Edmundson, L., Neumann, G.A., Perry, 

M.E., and Solomon, S.C., 2016, First global digital elevation model of Mercury, in Lunar 

and Planetary Science Conference, XLVII: The Woodlands, Tex., Lunar and Planetary 

Institute, abstract no. 2959.

Cavanaugh, J.F., Smith, J.C., Sun, X, Bartels, A.E., Ramos-Izquierdo, L., Krebs, D.J., 

Novo-Gradac, A.M., McGarry, J.F., Trunzo, R., Britt, J.L., Karsh, J., Katz, R.B., Lukemire, 

A., Szymkiewicz, R., Berry, D.L., Swinski, J.P., Neumann, G.A., Zuber, M.T., and Smith, 

D.E., 2007, The Mercury Laser Altimeter instrument for the MESSENGER mission: Space 

Science Reviews, v. 131, p. 451–479.

Davies, M.E., Abalakin, V.K., Cross, C.A., Duncombe, R.L., Masursky, H., Morando, B., Owen, 

T.C., Seidelmann, P.K., Sinclair, A.T., Wilkins, G.A., and Tjuflin, Y.S., 1980, Report of the 

IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements of the Planets 

and Satellites: Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, v. 22, p. 205–230.

Denevi, B.W., Seelos, F.P., Ernst, C.M., Keller, M.R., Chabot, N.L., Murchie, S.L., Domingue, 

D.L., Hash, C.D., and Blewett, D.T., 2016, Final calibration and multispectral map products 

from the Mercury Dual Imaging System wide-angle camera on MESSENGER, in Lunar and 

Planetary Science Conference, XLVII: The Woodlands, Tex., Lunar and Planetary Institute, 

abstract no. 1264, https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2016/pdf/1264.pdf.

Edmundson, K.L., Cook, D.A., Thomas, O.H., Archinal, B.A., and Kirk, R.L., 2012, 

Jigsaw—The ISIS3 bundle adjustment for extraterrestrial photogrammetry: International 

Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Annals of Photogrammetry, Remote 

Sensing, and Spatial Information Sciences, v. I–4, p. 203–208.

Hash, C., Espiritu, R., Malaret, E., Prockter, L., Murchie, S., Mick, A., and Ward, J., 2015, 

MESSENGER Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Experiment Data Record (EDR) 

Software Interface Specification (SIS): The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics 

Laboratory, MDIS EDR SIS V2T, 

https://pdsimage2.wr.usgs.gov/archive/mess-e_v_h-mdis-2-edr-rawdata-v1.0/MSGRMDS_1

001/DOCUMENT/MDISEDRSIS.PDF.

Hawkins, S.E., III, Murchie, S.L., Becker, K.J., Selby, C.M., Turner, F.S., Nobel, M.W., Chabot, 

N.L., Choo, T.H., Darlington, E.H., Denevi, B.W., Domingue, D.L., Ernst, C.M., Holsclaw, 

G.M., Laslo, N.R., McClintock, W.E., Prockter, L.M., Robinson, M.S., Solomon, S.C., and 

Sterner, R.E., II, 2009, In-flight performance of MESSENGER’s Mercury Dual Imaging 

System, in Hoover, B., Levin, G.V., Rozanov, A.Y., and Retherford, K.D., eds., Instruments 

and methods for Astrobiology and Planetary Missions XII: Bellingham, Wash., SPIE, 

Proceedings 7441, Paper 74410Z, 12 p.

Margot, J.L., 2009, A Mercury orientation model including non-zero obliquity and librations: 

Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, v. 105, no. 4, p. 329–336, 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-009-9234-1.

Perry, M.E., Neumann, G.A., Phillips, R.J., Barnouin, O.S., Ernst, C.M., Kahan, D.S., Solomon, 

C., Zuber, M.T., Smith, D.E., Hauck, S.A., II, Peale, S.J., Margot, J., Mazarico, E., Johnson, 

C.L., Gaskell, R.W., Roberts, J.H., McNutt, R.L., Jr., and Oberst, J., 2015, The low-degree 

shape of Mercury: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 42, p. 6951–6958, 

https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL065101.

Robinson, M.S., Davies, M.E., Colvin, T.R., and Edwards, K., 1999, A revised control network 

for Mercury: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 104, no. E12, p. 30847–30852.

Sides, S.C., Becker, T.L, Becker, K.J., Edmundson, K.L, Backer, J.W., Wilson, T.J., Weller, L.A., 

Humphrey, I.R., Berry, K.L, Shepherd, M.R., Hahn, M.A., Rose, C.C, Rodriguez, R., 

Paquette, A.C., Mapel, J.A., Shinaman, J.R., and Richie, J.O., 2017, USGS Integrated 

Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS3) instrument support, new capabilities, and 

releases in Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, XLVIII: The Woodlands, Tex., Lunar 

and Planetary Institute, abstract no. 2739.

Solomon, S.C., McNutt Jr., R.L., Gold, R.E., and Domingue, D.L., 2007, MESSENGER mission 

overview: Space Science Reviews, v. 131, p. 3–39, 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-007-9247-6.

Stark, A., 2016, The prime meridian of the planet Mercury: unpublished report available at 

ftp://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/naif/pds/data/mess-e_v_h-spice-6- 

v1.0/messsp_1000/document/stark_prime_meridian.pdf.

Sun, X., and Neumann, G.A., 2015, Calibration of the Mercury Laser Altimeter on the 

MESSENGER Spacecraft: IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, v. 53, no. 

5, p. 2860–2874.

Zuber, M.T., Smith, D.E., Phillips, R.J., Solomon, S.C., Neumann, G.A., Hauck, S.A., Peale, S.J., 

Barnouin, O.S., Head, J.W., Johnson, C.L., Lemoine, F.G., Mazarico, E., Sun, X., Torrence, 

M.H., Freed, A.M., Klimczak, C., Margot, J., Oberst, J., Perry, M.E., McNutt, R.L., 

Balcerski, J.A., Michel, N., Talpe, M.J., and Yang, D., 2012, Topography of the northern 

hemisphere of Mercury from MESSENGER laser altimetry: Science, p. 217–220, 

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1218805.

ISSN 2329-1311 (print)

ISSN 2329-132X (online)

https://doi.org/10.3133/3404

Printed on recycled paper

Prepared for the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Map 3404

Sheet 2 of 2

Prepared on behalf of the Planetary Science Division, Science Mission 

Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Edited by J.L. Zigler; digital cartography by D.L. Knifong

Manuscript approved for publication April 2, 2018

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does 

not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government

This map is also offered in an online, digital version. Users should be aware that, 

because of differences in rendering processes and pixel resolution, some slight 

distortion of scale may occur when viewing it on a computer screen or when printing 

it on an electronic plotter, even when it is viewed or printed at its intended 

publication scale

For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services, Box 25286, Federal Center, 

Denver, CO 80225, 1–888–ASK–USGS

Digital files available at https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3404

Suggested citation: Hunter, M.A., Hare, T.M., Hayward, R.K., Chabot, N.L., Hash, C.D., 

Denevi, B.W., Ernst, C.M., Murchie, S.L., Blewett, D.T., Malaret, E.R., Solomon, S.C., 

Becker, K.J., Becker, T.L., Weller, L.A., Edmundson, K.L., Neuman, G.A., Mazarico, E., 

and Perry, M.E., 2018, Image mosaic and topographic maps of Mercury: U.S. 

Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3404, scale 1:20,000,000 and 

1:12,157,366, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3404.

MLA MDIS

MDIS

Figure 1. Shows the data coverage used for 

this map sheet where MDIS is the Mercury Dual 

Imaging System and MLA is the Mercury Laser 

Altimeter. 

Descriptions of nomenclature used on map are 

listed at https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov

1

U.S. Geological Survey,

2

University of Arizona,

3

NASA Goddard Flight Center,

4

Johns Hopkins University,

5

Columbia University

Topographic Map of Mercury

By

Marc A. Hunter,1

 Trent M. Hare,1 Rosalyn K. Hayward,1 Kris J. Becker,2 Tammy L. Becker,1 Lynn A. Weller,1

Kenneth L. Edmundson,1 Gregory A. Neuman,3 Erwan Mazarico,3 Mark E. Perry,4 and Sean C. Solomon5

2018

~ -5,631 Minimum ~ 4,676 Maximum

ELEVATION IN METERS

0

1,000

–5,000

–4,000

–3,000–2,000

–1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

–6,000

North

South

West

East

180°W

180°E

30°W

330°E

60°W

300°E

90°W

270°E

120°W

240°E

150°W

210°E

180°W

180°E

0°W

360°E

210°W

150°E

240°W

120°E

270°W

90°E

300°W

60°E

330°W

30°E

57°

50°

30°

0°

–30°

–50°

–57°

57°

50°

30°

0°

–30°

–50°

–57°

180°E

180°W

330°E

30°W

300°E

60°W

270°E

90°W

240°E

120°W

210°E

150°W

180°E

180°W

360°E

0°W

150°E

210°W

120°E

240°W

90°E

270°W

60°E

300°W

30°E

330°W

CALORIS

PLANITIA

Rembrandt

Hafiz

Rustaveli

Raditladi

Mozart

Sveinsdóttir

Rachmaninoff

SOBKOU

PLANITIA

BUDH

PLANITIA

Beethoven

Sanai

Vyāsa Shakespeare

Dostoevskij

Tolstoj

Raphael

Homer

Eyck

Van Monet

Hugo

Haydn

Rodin

Wren

Michelangelo

Renoir

Vivaldi

Vieira da Silva

STILBON PLANITIA

MEARCAIR

 

 PLANITIA

 

APĀRANGI

 PLANITIA

CATUILLA 

PLANUM

PAPSUKKAL

PLANITIA

TURMS

PLANITIA

OTAARED

PLANITIA

SIHTU

PLANITIA

LUGUS

PLANITIA

Highest Point

(4,676 m)

ODIN

PLANITIA

TIR

PLANITIA

BOREALIS

 PLANITIA

Aneirin

Praxiteles

2000 1000 500 0 500 1000 2000 KILOMETERS

0

20

40

57

0

20

40

57

SCALE 1:20,000,000 (1 mm = 20 km) AT 56° LATITUDE

MERCATOR PROJECTION

West longitude (planetographic) coordinate system shown in black.

East longitude (planetocentric) coordinate system shown in red.

–55°

–55°

–60°

–60°

–70°

–70°

–80°

–80°

0°E

360°W

180°W

180°E

300°E

60°W

330°E

30°W

30°E

330°W

60°E

300°W

270°W

90°E

240°W

120°E

210°W

150°E

150°W

210°E

120°W

240°E

90°W

270°E

Bach

Pushkin

Cervantes

U T A R I D I P L A N

I

T

I

A

U T A R I D I P L A N

I

T

I

A

SCALE 1:12,157,366 (1 mm = 12.157366 km) AT 56° LATITUDE

POLAR STEREOGRAPHIC PROJECTION

West longitude (planetographic) coordinate system shown in black.

East longitude (planetocentric) coordinate system shown in red.

SOUTH POLAR REGION

1000 500 0 500 1000 KILOMETERS

-90

-70

-55

-90

-70

-55

180°E

180°W

0°W

360°E

55°

55°

60°

60°

70°

70°

80°

80°

240°E

120°W

210°E

150°W

150°E

210°W

120°E

240°W

270°W

90°E

300°W

60°E

330°W

30°E

30°W

330°E

60°W

300°E

90°W

270°E

Prokefiev

Goethe

Mendelssohn

P

L

A N

I

T

I

A

B

O

R

E A

L

I

S

P

L

A N

I

T

I

A

B

O

R

E A

L

I

S

SUISEI

PLANITIA

STILBON

 PLANITIA

Lowest Point

(-5,631 m)

1000 500 0 500 1000 KILOMETERS

90

70

55

90

70

55

NORTH POLAR REGION

SCALE 1:12,157,366 (1 mm = 12.157366) AT 56° LATITUDE

POLAR STEREOGRAPHIC PROJECTION

West longitude (planetographic) coordinate system shown in black.

East longitude (planetocentric) coordinate system shown in red.

SPACECRAFT AND INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION

This map is based on data acquired by the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS; Hawkins 

and others, 2009) and Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA; Cavanaugh and others, 2007) instruments 

on the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, 

GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft (Solomon and others, 2007). MDIS 

consists of two cameras, a wide angle camera (WAC) and a narrow angle camera (NAC). The 

WAC is a 4-element refractive telescope having a focal length of 78 millimeters (mm) and a 

collecting area of 48 mm2. A 12-position filter wheel provides color imaging over the spectral 

range of the charge-coupled device (CCD) detector. Eleven spectral filters spanning the range 

from 395 nanometers (nm) to 1,040 nm are defined to cover wavelengths diagnostic of different 

surface materials. The twelfth position is a broad-band filter for optical navigation (Denevi and 

others, 2016). The NAC is an off-axis reflective telescope with a 550-mm focal length and a 

collecting area of 462 mm2. The NAC has an identical CCD detector with a single medium-band 

filter (100 nm wide), centered at 750 nm to match to the corresponding WAC filter 7 (or G filter) 

for monochrome imaging (Hash and others, 2015). The MLA instrument uses a laser to measure 

the distance between the spacecraft and the surface. As a bi-static system (transmitter and 

receiver), the transmitter generates a brief laser pulse and the time is measured for the light to 

reach the surface and return into the receiver. This allows for accurate topographic 

measurements, with respect to Mercury’s center of mass, even into completely shadowed regions 

(Sun and Neumann, 2015).

MAP DESCRIPTION

The topographic shaded-relief maps shown here were derived from two independently 

created digital elevation models (DEMs). The equatorial and south pole DEMs were generated 

from a sparse control network derived from MDIS WAC and NAC image-to-image feature-based 

matching (Becker and others, 2016). The north pole map was created by interpolating a DEM 

from dense MLA range measurements (fig. 1, Zuber and others, 2012).

Using the Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS3) image processing 

system (Sides and others, 2017) and 176,352 observations from MDIS NAC and wide-angle 

camera-G (WAC-G), a global DEM of Mercury was derived (Becker and others, 2016). The 

DEM was created with a least-squares bundle adjustment of common features, measured as 

tie-point coordinates in overlapping NAC and WAC-G filter images (Edmundson and others, 

2012). Because the NAC and WAC-G observations were acquired with a large range of 

geometric and illumination characteristics, new methods were developed in ISIS3 to overcome 

these challenges. This new approach utilized unsupervised image-to-image feature-based 

matching and control techniques that are well suited for scaling and distribution across compute 

cluster environments (Becker and others, 2016).

From the 176,352 images, we selected a subset limited by pixel scale (75 to 800 meters per 

pixel; 64,986 NAC and 37,091 WAC-G images) and successfully controlled 100,432 images 

(63,536 NAC, 36,896 WAC-G) to sub-pixel accuracy (0.86 average pixel residual from the 

bundle adjustment). The final global control network contained 12,596,336 control points and 

94,745,475 tie-point measurements. From this control network, a global DEM was interpolated at 

64 pixels per degree (665 meters per pixel). During the interpolation step, for each DEM pixel, 

11 points were selected and a 1.0-standard-deviation filter centered about the median radius was 

applied to eliminate outliers. The median radius was then selected from the remaining points as 

the output DEM radius value, and finally a series of averaging filters smoothed the final DEM 

(Becker and others, 2016). The lowest point of the MDIS-derived DEM occurs in the bottom of 

Rachmaninoff crater (crater at lat 27.66° N., long 302.63° W., and the highest point occurs at 

lat 8.73° S., long 241.24° W.).

MLA, primarily in the northern hemisphere, acquired more than 26 million measurements of 

Mercury’s surface. The individual MLA footprints are ~80 meters (m) in diameter and on average 

are spaced ~350 to 450 m along track. The radial precision of individual measurements is <1 m, 

and the accuracy with respect to Mercury’s center of mass is better than 20 m (Zuber and others, 

2012). From these topographic measurements, despite larger coverage gaps poleward of lat 84° 

N., a high-precision DEM was created using a spline tension interpolation within the Generic 

Mapping Tool suite at 500 meters per pixel. In contrast to the MDIS-derived DEM, the lowest 

point in the MLA-derived DEM is found in Prokofiev crater (lat 85.46° N., long 296.21° W.). 

The MLA data does confirm the general location for the MDIS-derived highest point, although a 

prominent portion of the Raditladi crater rim (lat 30.36° N., long 243.19° W.) may exceed the 

MDIS-derived height (G.A. Neumann, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, written commun., 

2018). Precise global laser altimetric coverage awaits completion by future missions.

PROJECTION

The Mercator projection is used between latitudes ±57°, with a central meridian at 0° 

longitude and latitude equal to the nominal scale at 0°. The polar stereographic projection is used 

for the regions north of the +55° parallel and south of the –55° parallel, with a central meridian 

set for both at 0° and a latitude of true scale at +90° and –90°, respectively. The adopted spherical 

radius used to define the map scale is 2439.4 km (Perry and others, 2015).

COORDINATE SYSTEM

The orientation model for Mercury has been updated using improved pole position and 

short-period longitude libration data from Margot (2009). The International Astronomical Union 

(IAU) Working Group, since its original report (Davies and others, 1980), continues to 

recommend the use of the crater Hun Kal (which means “twenty” in the Mayan language) to 

define the 20° west longitude meridian. Therefore, the value of the prime meridian (W0) used 

previously (W0 = 329.548°; Robinson and others, 1999) but corrected for libration terms at 

J2000.0 results in a new recommended value of W0 = 329.5988° (Stark, 2016).

Longitudes are shown in both positive West (shown in black) and East (shown in red). 

Positive West is the default longitude system recommended by the IAU (Archinal and others, 

2011), but positive East has been used for all MESSENGER map products.

MAPPING TECHNIQUES

The topographic shaded-relief maps were generated from the original MDIS- and 

MLA-based DEMs with a sun angle of 45° from horizontal and a Sun azimuth of 270°, as 

measured clockwise from north, with no vertical exaggeration. The DEM values were then 

mapped to a global color look-up table, with each color representing a range of 1 km of elevation. 

The shaded-relief and color files were then merged and scaled to 1:20,000,000 for the Mercator 

portion and 1:12,157,366 for the two polar stereographic parts with a resolution of 300 pixels per 

inch. The two projections have a common scale at ±56° latitude.

NOMENCLATURE

Feature names on this sheet have been approved by the IAU. All features greater than 200 

km in diameter or length were included unless they were not visible at the printed map scale. 

Some selected well-known features less than 200 km in diameter or length were also included. 

For a complete list of the IAU-approved nomenclature for Mercury, see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature at https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The collection of data used in the production of this map was made possible by NASA, the 

MESSENGER mission, and the Mercury Digital Imaging System and Mercury Laser Altimeter 

teams. Costs of map production and publication were funded by a NASA and U.S. Geological 

Survey Interagency Agreement. 

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Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive 

purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government

This map is offered as an online-only, digital publication. Users should be aware 

that, because of differences in rendering processes and pixel resolution, some slight 

distortion of scale may occur when viewing it on a computer screen or when 

printing it on an electronic plotter, even when it is viewed or printed at its intended 

publication scale

Digital files available at https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3404

Suggested citation: Hunter, M.A., Hare, T.M., Hayward, R.K., Chabot, N.L., Hash, C.D., 

Denevi, B.W., Ernst, C.M., Murchie, S.L., Blewett, D.T., Malaret, E.R., Solomon, S.C., 

Becker, K.J., Becker, T.L., Weller, L.A., Edmundson, K.L., Neuman, G.A., Mazarico, E., 

and Perry, M.E., 2018, Image mosaic and topographic maps of Mercury: U.S. 

Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3404, scale 1:20,000,000 and 

1:12,157,366, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3404.

ISSN 2329-132X (online)

https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3404

Prepared on behalf of the Planetary Science Division, Science Mission 

Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Edited by J.L. Zigler; digital cartography by D.L. Knifong

Manuscript approved for publication April 2, 2018

1

U.S. Geological Survey,

2

University of Arizona,

3

NASA Goddard Flight Center,

4

Johns Hopkins University,

5

Columbia University

Prepared for the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Map 3404

Sheet 2 of 2

Descriptions of nomenclature used on map are 

listed at https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov

MLA MDIS

MDIS

Figure 1. Shows the data coverage used for 

this map sheet where MDIS is the Mercury Dual 

Imaging System and MLA is the Mercury Laser 

Altimeter. 

Topographic Map of Mercury

By

Marc A. Hunter,1

 Trent M. Hare,1 Rosalyn K. Hayward,1 Kris J. Becker,2 Tammy L. Becker,1 Lynn A. Weller,1

Kenneth L. Edmundson,1 Gregory A. Neuman,3 Erwan Mazarico,3 Mark E. Perry,4 and Sean C. Solomon5

2018