Virtual Expedition on Mars? Caltech's Spectacular 5.7 Terapixel Image of the Red Planet Reveals Impact Craters, Cliffsides, Other Stunning Details

Using data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) of NASA, scientists were able to create a global image of Mars with the highest resolution.

5.7 Terapixel Image Mosaic

SciTechDaily reports that they were able to create a 5.7-terapixel image mosaic of the red planet. Impact craters, dust devil cracks, and cliffsides are all intricately documented in this new mosaic.

The mosaic is made of 110,000 images taken by the MRO. With the orbiter's greyscale CTX (context camera), its captured images cover close to 25 square meters of surface per pixel.

According to PetaPixel, the mosaic covers 99.5% of the surface of Mars, between 88 degrees north and 88 degrees south. The 0.5% may not have been imaged or was not good enough in terms of quality.

This 5.7-terapixel image is now the highest-resolution planet-wide image of the planet that has ever been made. SciTechDaily adds that, if it were to be printed out, its size could be large enough to cover the Rose Bowl Stadium in California.

The Bruce Murray Laboratory for Planetary Visualization at Caltech was behind the mosaic's creation. The development time took six years, covering tens of thousands of hours.

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Close Look Into Mars

Back in 2006, the CTX was able to snap almost the entire planet. Because of this, their shots were an ideal starting point for the scientists behind the mosaic. The process of constructing maps requires getting and filtering a huge number of images to find those with clear skies and similar lighting conditions.

To make the mosaic, Jay Dickson, an image processing scientist who led the efforts and handles the Bruce Murray lab, made an algorithm to match shots according to the features that were captured. The remaining 13,000 snaps, which the algorithm was unable to match, were then manually stitched together. The remaining mosaic gaps reveal areas of the red planet that the CTX had not yet captured when Dickson started the work or that were blocked by dust or clouds.

Access For All

The spectacular image is so detailed that over 120 peer-reviewed studies have already "cited a beta version." Nevertheless, despite its stunning detail, the mosaic is also easy to make use of. It was designed for everyone to access, including researchers, schoolchildren, and the general public.

In fact, Laura Kerber, a Mars scientist from the JPL, recently made use of the image to find her favorite spot on the planet: the Medusae Fossae, which is a Mongolia-sized region full of dust. By simply clicking on buttons on the mosaic, she was able to zoom in and look into the prehistoric river channels, which are now dry.

Image users can also move from areas to areas, such as the Jezero Crater and the Gale Crater. Both craters are being observed by the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers.

One of the image's most interesting features highlights the impact craters that cover the whole planet. This allows viewers to see the planet's level of scarring.

Rich Zureck, the project scientist for the mission who is from the JPL, notes that the mosaic is a great way to look into some of the collected imagery. The mosaic will also be brought to the Planetary Data System of NASA for posting.

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