Planum Australe (Mars)
Data as of 2026-10-23
What it is
- Type
- Planum, plana
- IAU definition
Plateau or high plain
- Diameter
- 1,429.9 km, 42 % of the radius of its body
- Centre
- 83.35° S, 157.7° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
- Name adopted
- 1976
- Origin of the name
Classical albedo feature.
Quoted in English, as the IAU publishes it.
In Galaxy
Opens its body in the application, the camera turned towards Planum Australe.
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 | 5,999 | September 15, 1997 | June 30, 2001 |
| Mars Global Surveyor · Mars Orbiter Camera | 48,439 | November 22, 1997 | June 15, 2006 |
| 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter · Thermal Emission Imaging System | 184,514 | February 20, 2002 | November 30, 2025 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Planetary Fourier Spectrometer | 12,902 | January 18, 2004 | December 30, 2018 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Observatoire Mineralogie, Eau, Glaces, Activite | 5,016 | January 18, 2004 | January 14, 2024 |
| ESA's Mars Express · High Resolution Stereo Camera | 4,910 | January 23, 2004 | March 10, 2026 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionsphere Sounding | 31,554 | September 2, 2005 | May 5, 2022 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Context Camera | 10,224 | September 30, 2006 | May 31, 2026 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Shallow Radar | 16,334 | December 6, 2006 | November 14, 2025 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars | 220,227 | December 16, 2006 | May 7, 2022 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment | 12,563 | January 2, 2007 | July 30, 2026 |
| ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter · Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System | 4,570 | May 10, 2018 | November 27, 2024 |
| Viking Orbiter 1 and 2 · Visual Imaging Subsystem Camera A/B | 1,717 | 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/4753
Type definitions: IAU Descriptor Terms, read on October 17, 2026. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms