Geology of the Neruda quadrangle (H13), Mercury

Abstract

We present the first geological map of the Neruda Quadrangle (H13), Mercury. H13 is in Mercury’s southern hemisphere between latitudes 22.5°S–65°S, and longitudes 90°E–180° covering a total area of just under 5 million km², equivalent to 6.5% of the planet’s surface. Map digitisation was carried out at scales between 1:300,000 and 1:700,000 for final presentation at 1:3,000,0000, from end-of-mission data products from NASA’s MESSENGER mission. We distinguish three main photogeologic plains units: intercrater, intermediate, and smooth plains. We also distinguish all craters and their materials ≥ 20 km in diameter based on their degradation state. We have completed two versions of the map, one using a three-class crater degradation scheme and one using a five-class crater degradation scheme. In addition, specific geological units were charted for the Rembrandt impact basin. This map has been constructed to provide context and targets for the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury.