Planetary Environments Laboratory

Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA)

Class:

Data/Image

Status:

Past

Organizations:

Launch Date:

August 2004

WEBSITE:

MLA is one of the primary instruments on NASA's MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) Project. MLA's function is to create topographic maps of Mercury that will help characterize the geologic history of the planet. The MESSENGER is the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury; the solar system's most unexplored planet.

Key Staff
    MLA Developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center