The image is the first of many expected
to come from the Messenger probe, the
first space mission to orbit the planet
closest to the sun. The Messenger
spacecraft launched on August 3, 2004,
and after flybys of Earth, Venus and
Mercury, started its historic orbit
around Mercury on March 17.
The dominant rayed crater in the upper
portion of the image is Debussy,
according to NASA. The smaller crater,
Matabei, with its dark rays, is visible
to the west of Debussy.
The bottom portion of the full image,
which can be seen here, is near Mercury's
south pole and includes a region of
Mercury's surface not previously
seen by spacecraft.
Over the next three days, Messenger
will acquire 1,185 more images in
support of a phase to review spacecraft
and instrument performance.
The yearlong primary science
phase of the mission will begin
on April 4, during which it is expected
to acquire more than 75,000 images.
The Johns Hopkins University
Applied Physics Laboratory built
and operates the Messenger spacecraft
and manages the Discovery-class
mission for NASA.
Messenger stands for MErcury Surface,
Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and
Ranging.