Meridiani Planum (Mars)
Data as of 2026-10-23
What it is
- Type
- Planum, plana
- IAU definition
Plateau or high plain
- Diameter
- 1,058.5 km, 31 % of the radius of its body
- Centre
- 0.04° S, 356.86° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
- Name adopted
- 2003
- Origin of the name
Classical albedo feature name.
Quoted in English, as the IAU publishes it.
In Galaxy
Opens its body in the application, the camera turned towards Meridiani Planum.
Observed by
Instruments whose footprint touches this formation, counted by the PDS Orbital Data Explorer (data frozen on September 29, 2026). A footprint that touches it is not a study of it.
| Mission and instrument | Products | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mars Global Surveyor · Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter | 549 | September 15, 1997 | June 30, 2001 |
| Mars Global Surveyor · Mars Orbiter Camera | 7,994 | October 29, 1997 | October 15, 2006 |
| 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter · Thermal Emission Imaging System | 30,700 | February 19, 2002 | November 30, 2025 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Planetary Fourier Spectrometer | 1,714 | February 24, 2004 | December 30, 2018 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Observatoire Mineralogie, Eau, Glaces, Activite | 1,318 | March 4, 2004 | January 8, 2024 |
| ESA's Mars Express · High Resolution Stereo Camera | 922 | December 19, 2004 | February 26, 2026 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionsphere Sounding | 2,866 | July 20, 2005 | March 7, 2022 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Context Camera | 1,684 | September 29, 2006 | May 28, 2026 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment | 2,721 | September 30, 2006 | July 29, 2026 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars | 31,450 | October 3, 2006 | May 7, 2022 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Shallow Radar | 2,930 | December 15, 2006 | December 22, 2025 |
| ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter · Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System | 3,164 | May 24, 2018 | December 18, 2024 |
| Viking Orbiter 1 and 2 · Visual Imaging Subsystem Camera A/B | 885 | no date published | no date published |
Sources
International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, read on October 23, 2026. Feature page: https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3854
Type definitions: IAU Descriptor Terms, read on October 17, 2026. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms