May 12, 2009--Subtleties of the crustal rocks of Mercury are revealed in these new images from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft.

Showing the planet much as a human would see Mercury from deep space, this enhanced-color, globe-like composite of images shows what may be the planet's most recognizable feature in bright yellow at the top of the top image—the Caloris Basin impact crater.

The black belt represents the only region of Mercury that has not been observed by MESSENGER.