title: Laser altimeter observations from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby.
abstract: A 3200-kilometers-long profile of Mercury by the Mercury Laser Altimeter on the MESSENGER spacecraft spans approximately 20% of the near-equatorial region of the planet. Topography along the profile is characterized by a 5.2-kilometer dynamic range and 930-meter root-mean-square roughness. At long wavelengths, topography slopes eastward by 0.02 degrees , implying a variation of equatorial shape that is at least partially compensated. Sampled craters on Mercury are shallower than their counterparts on the Moon, at least in part the result of Mercury's higher gravity. Crater floors vary in roughness and slope, implying complex modification over a range of length scales.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307, USA. zuber@mit.edu
authors.forename: Maria T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Zuber
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Sean C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: Roger J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Stanton J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Peale
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Head
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hauck
authors.forename: Ralph L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: McNutt
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oberst
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Frank G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Lemoine
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Barnouin-Jha
authors.forename: John K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Harmon