Hellas Planitia (Mars)
Data as of 2026-10-23
What it is
- Type
- Planitia, planitiae
- IAU definition
Low plain
- Diameter
- 2,299.2 km, 68 % of the radius of its body
- Centre
- 42.43° S, 70.5° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
- Name adopted
- 1973
- 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 Hellas Planitia.
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 | 1,950 | September 15, 1997 | June 30, 2001 |
| Mars Global Surveyor · Mars Orbiter Camera | 24,191 | October 5, 1997 | October 16, 2006 |
| 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter · Thermal Emission Imaging System | 92,710 | February 20, 2002 | November 27, 2025 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Observatoire Mineralogie, Eau, Glaces, Activite | 2,024 | January 8, 2004 | January 7, 2024 |
| ESA's Mars Express · High Resolution Stereo Camera | 3,092 | January 10, 2004 | February 14, 2026 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Planetary Fourier Spectrometer | 5,085 | January 18, 2004 | December 31, 2018 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionsphere Sounding | 10,460 | July 9, 2005 | April 28, 2022 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Context Camera | 5,066 | September 28, 2006 | May 30, 2026 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars | 101,136 | September 30, 2006 | May 7, 2022 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment | 6,605 | September 30, 2006 | July 29, 2026 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Shallow Radar | 6,469 | December 6, 2006 | February 9, 2026 |
| ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter · Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System | 7,347 | April 4, 2018 | December 20, 2024 |
| Viking Orbiter 1 and 2 · Visual Imaging Subsystem Camera A/B | 2,406 | 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/2432
Type definitions: IAU Descriptor Terms, read on October 17, 2026. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms