Accurate global map of Mars now available to public

The most accurate global Martian map ever has been developed using a camera aboard JPL's Mars Odyssey spacecraft and is now available online.

This map is very user friendly: researchers and the public alike can access the map via several websites and explore and survey the entire surface of the planet. According to a news release from NASA, this map was constructed "using nearly 21,000 images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS, a multi-band infrared camera on Odyssey. Researchers at Arizona State University's Mars Space Flight Facility in Tempe, in collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have been compiling the map since THEMIS observations began eight years ago." The statement points out that, while portions of Mars have been mapped at higher resolution in the past, this map provides the most accurate current view of the entire planet. The pictures have been "smoothed, matched, blended and cartographically controlled" to make a giant mosaic. Users can pan around images and zoom into them. The detail is truly astonishing: at full zoom, the smallest surface details are a mere 100 meters (330 feet) wide. Advanced users with large bandwidth, powerful computers and software capable of handling images in the gigabyte range can download the full-resolution map in sections here . "Other sites build upon the base map. At Mars Image Explorer, which includes images from every Mars orbital mission since the mid-1970s, users can also search for images using a map of Mars. Mars Odyssey was launched in April 2001 and reached the planet October 2001. Science operations began in February 2002. The mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington and more details are available on the mission website. .