The best interactive map of Mars has been created: explore the planet like never before
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2025 5:26 am
What can you tell us about the planet Mars right now? You'll probably say that it's red, that it was once covered in water, and that life may have existed on it. It's also the only planet inhabited by robots - the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers are currently working there.
Can you tell me where Gale Crater is in this photo of Mars? Can you guess the location of Jezero Crater, which may have once been a huge lake? Most people probably can't, but we have a great opportunity to explore the entire length and breadth of Mars thanks to an interactive map compiled from thousands of images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The map took six years to create, so it's worth stopping by and taking a look.
Interactive map of Mars
The most detailed map of Mars was created by experts from the vietnam number data Bruce Murray Planetary Imaging Laboratory. The project involved 110,000 photographs taken by the onboard camera of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which began operating in 2006 and is still orbiting the planet at an altitude of 250 to 316 kilometers above its surface.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter space research station
algorithm to stitch together thousands of photos taken with the HiRISE onboard camera. However, the algorithm was unable to match about 13,000 images together - it had to be done manually.
"For 17 years, MRO has been showing us Mars like no one has ever seen it before. This mosaic is a great way to explore the images we've collected," said Rich Zurek, one of the map's developers.
Each pixel on the interactive map corresponds to an area of Mars measuring 25 square meters. In total, it contains about 5.7 trillion pixels - the work was titanic, so the map took six years to create. You can see empty areas on the map of Mars, but this is only because the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has not yet photographed these areas or there were dense layers of clouds over them at the time of the photograph.
Can you tell me where Gale Crater is in this photo of Mars? Can you guess the location of Jezero Crater, which may have once been a huge lake? Most people probably can't, but we have a great opportunity to explore the entire length and breadth of Mars thanks to an interactive map compiled from thousands of images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The map took six years to create, so it's worth stopping by and taking a look.
Interactive map of Mars
The most detailed map of Mars was created by experts from the vietnam number data Bruce Murray Planetary Imaging Laboratory. The project involved 110,000 photographs taken by the onboard camera of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which began operating in 2006 and is still orbiting the planet at an altitude of 250 to 316 kilometers above its surface.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter space research station
algorithm to stitch together thousands of photos taken with the HiRISE onboard camera. However, the algorithm was unable to match about 13,000 images together - it had to be done manually.
"For 17 years, MRO has been showing us Mars like no one has ever seen it before. This mosaic is a great way to explore the images we've collected," said Rich Zurek, one of the map's developers.
Each pixel on the interactive map corresponds to an area of Mars measuring 25 square meters. In total, it contains about 5.7 trillion pixels - the work was titanic, so the map took six years to create. You can see empty areas on the map of Mars, but this is only because the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has not yet photographed these areas or there were dense layers of clouds over them at the time of the photograph.