Mars Exploring The Planets Mars

MARS: A Global View


Mars' Western Hemisphere

 


137k GIF
- 53k JPEG

Image processed by U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona.

This mosaic is composed of 102 individual Viking Orbiter images and covers nearly half the suface of Mars. At the center is Valles Marineris, which stretches 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) across the equatorial region of the planet. The Earth's Grand Canyon could fit inside one of its small tributaries. The three mountains at the left are volcanoes, ranging from about 17 to 26 kilometers (11 to 16 miles) high.

 

Valles Marineris Hemisphere Mosaic
114k GIF
--centered at latitude -7, longitude 78
from "Mission to Mars: Digital Color Mosaics" Vol. 14--Planetwide Collection, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey for NASA.

 

Mars' Eastern Hemisphere


140k GIF
- 37k JPEG

Cerberus Hemisphere; center= latitude 3, longitude 185.
Image processed by U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona.
The streaked surface of the eastern hemisphere of Mars is evidence of the importance of wind on the red planet. The dark patterns, which have been observed from Earth, may be areas where the wind has eroded deposits of Mars dust or may be deposits of material that are too large for the wind to transport. The colors of this mosaic have been enhanced by a factor of two to make subtle variations stand out.

 

Syrtis Major Hemisphere Mosaic
91k GIF
--centered at lat -1, lon 306.
"Mission to Mars: Digital Color Mosaics" Vol. 14--Planetwide Collection, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey for NASA.
   

 

Mars Global Surveyor Mosaic

13k JPEG

NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Twenty-four images from the Mars Global Surveyor were combined to create each of these global views of Mars when it was winter in the planet's southern hemisphere. Note the large south polar cap.
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

 



Mars Rotations Produced from Viking Orbiter Imagery

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