Cracked Actor

This image, with north to the top, shows an area in Mercury's northern hemisphere within an old impact basin that has been flooded with volcanic plains material. The plains are cut by a series of cracks ("graben") that form a polygonal network. The graben were formed by tectonic forces that pulled the crust apart.

Date acquired: October 16, 2011

Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington