[meteorite-list] The First Hiking Map of Mars (Mars Express)

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMOI5O2UXE_0.html

The first hiking maps of Mars
Mars Express
European Space Agency 
12 February 2007

Scientists using data from the HRSC experiment onboard ESA's Mars
Express spacecraft have produced the first 'hiker's maps' of Mars.
Giving detailed height contours and names of geological features in the
Iani Chaos region, the maps could become a standard reference for future
Martian research.
 
The maps are known as topographic maps because they use contour lines to
show the heights of the landscape.

The contour lines are superimposed upon high-resolution images of Mars,
taken by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard Mars Express.
On Earth, such maps are used by hikers and planning authorities.

[Context map of the Iani Chaos region on Mars]

They are known in the UK as ordinance survey maps. Every country has its
own equivalent. The contour lines themselves were determined using data
from the HRSC.

This data has been transformed into three-dimensional computer models of
Mars, known as the HRSC Digital Terrain Models (DTMs).

[Possible scales of topographic maps of Mars]

The new maps have been produced under the leadership of the Principal
Investigator (PI) G. Neukum (Freie Universität Berlin), as part of the
effort of the science and experiment team of the HRSC experiment, by J.
Albertz and S. Gehrke of the Institute for Geodesy and Geoinformation
Science, Technische Universität Berlin, in cooperation with the German
Aerospace Centre (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin.

They used the HRSC DTMs of the Iani Chaos region to produce a series of
topographic maps at different scales, from 1:200 000 down to 1:50 000.

[Another topographic map of Mars at 1:200 000]

The researchers chose the Iani Chaos region because of its major
topographical interest. It is covered in individual blocks and hills
that form a chaotic pattern across the landscape.

These 'islands' of rocks are likely all that remains of a previous
surface of Mars. The areas in between the islands collapsed when
cavities formed below the surface. Initially these cavities may have
been supported by the presence of ice, which melted due to volcanic
heat. As the water flowed out into Ares Vallis, towards the northern
lowlands of Mars, the landscape collapsed and formed the Iani Chaos
region we see today.

[Topographic map of Mars at 1:100 000]

The contour lines help the eye to understand the morphology of the
surface shown in the images. On most of the maps, each line represents a
difference of 250 metres in height. The maps also display the names of
geographical features and the lines of Martian longitude and latitude.

The maps are a demonstration of the kind of products that can be derived
from the HRSC experiment. The HRSC is on the way to providing enough
data to create such maps for the whole of Mars. This would generate 10
372 particular map sheets, each covering an equal area of the Martian
surface. The maps would be to a scale of 1:200 000.

[Topographic map of Mars at 1:50 000]

Note for editors
 
Up to now, some map sheets have been created as examples within the
scope of the German HRSC experiment funding. A realization of the map
series could only be carried out within a currently discussed
comprehensive effort towards a planetary mapping programme at the
European level.

Gerhard Neukum, Freie Universität Berlin, is the HRSC Principal
Investigator (PI). The science team consists of 45 co-investigators from
32 institutions, spread across 10 countries. HRSC was developed under
the leadership of the PI at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and built
in cooperation with industrial partners, EADS Astrium, Lewicki
Microelectronic GmbH and Jena-Optronik GmbH.

 
 
For more information
 
Gerhard Neukum, HRSC Principal Investigator, Freie Universität Berlin
Email: gerhard.neukum @ fu-berlin.de

Agustin Chicarro, ESA Mars Express Project Scientist
Email: agustin.chicarro @ esa.int