[meteorite-list] NASA Spacecraft Camera Yields Most Accurate Mars Map Ever (Mars Odyssey)

[Ron Baalke]

July 23, 2010

J.D. Harrington 
Headquarters, Washington                                    
202-358-5241 
j.d.harrington at nasa.gov 

Jia-Rui Cook 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 
818-354-0850 
jia-rui.c.cook at jpl.nasa.gov 

Robert Burnham 
Arizona State University, Tempe 
480-458-8207 
robert.burnham at asu.edu 
RELEASE: 10-176

NASA SPACECRAFT CAMERA YIELDS MOST ACCURATE MARS MAP EVER

WASHINGTON -- A camera aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has 
helped develop the most accurate global Martian map ever. Researchers 
and the public can access the map via several websites and explore 
and survey the entire surface of the Red Planet. 

The 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 (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., have been compiling the map 
since THEMIS observations began eight years ago. 

The pictures have been smoothed, matched, blended and cartographically 
controlled to make a giant mosaic. Users can pan around images and 
zoom into them. At full zoom, the smallest surface details are 330 
feet wide. While portions of Mars have been mapped at higher 
resolution, this map provides the most accurate view so far of the 
entire planet. 

The new map is available at: 

http://www.mars.asu.edu/maps/?layer=thm_dayir_100m_v11 

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 at: 

http://www.mars.asu.edu/data/thm_dir_100m 

"We've tied the images to the cartographic control grid provided by 
the U.S. Geological Survey, which also modeled the THEMIS camera's 
optics," said Philip Christensen, principal investigator for THEMIS 
and director of the Mars Space Flight Facility. "This approach lets 
us remove all instrument distortion, so features on the ground are 
correctly located to within a few pixels and provide the best global 
map of Mars to date." 

Working with THEMIS images from the new map, the public can contribute 
to Mars exploration by aligning the images to within a pixel's 
accuracy at NASA's "Be A Martian" website, which was developed in 
cooperation with Microsoft Corp. Users can visit the site at: 

http://beamartian.jpl.nasa.gov/maproom#/MapMars 

"The Mars Odyssey THEMIS team has assembled a spectacular product that 
will be the base map for Mars researchers for many years to come," 
said Jeffrey Plaut, Odyssey project scientist at JPL. "The map lays 
the framework for global studies of properties such as the mineral 
composition and physical nature of the surface materials." 

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 search for images using a map of Mars at: 

http://themis.asu.edu/maps 

"The broad purpose underlying all these sites is to make Mars 
exploration easy and engaging for everyone," Christensen said. "We 
are trying to create a user-friendly interface between the public and 
NASA's Planetary Data System, which does a terrific job of 
collecting, validating and archiving data." 

Mars Odyssey was launched in April 2001 and reached the Red Planet in 
October 2001. Science operations began in February 2002. The mission 
is managed by JPL, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in 
Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver is the prime 
contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. NASA's Planetary 
Data System, sponsored by the Science Mission Directorate, archives 
and distributes scientific data from the agency's planetary missions, 
astronomical observations, and laboratory measurements. 

For more information about NASA's Odyssey spacecraft, visit: 

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey 
	
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