Category Archives: Surface Images

Landscapes of Mars: A Visual Tour

“Containing beautiful and exiting images that will spark the imagination, this is essentially a picture book providing a visual tour of Mars. All the major regions and topographical features are shown and supplemented with chapter introductions and extended captions. In a way, think of the book as a visual tourist guide. Other topics covered include Martian uplands, Giant volcanoes, the Grand Canyon of Mars, and much more. At the end of the book is an exciting gallery of the best 3D images of Mars making the book a perfect tool for understanding Mars and its place in the solar system.”

Earth as Seen from the Surface of Mars (& Musk quote)

[Image: NASA, posted on Facebook by Milky Way Musings]
 

This picture, taken from the surface of Mars, is the first taken of our home world from the surface of another planet. This is the view that future human pioneers on the Red Planet will have of their former home.

Ultimately we don’t really want 10,000 people on Mars,” Musk says, after letting the pause linger a few seconds more. “We want millions.

Fantastic interview with SpaceX’s Elon Musk here: http://www.marssociety.org/home/press/illputmillionsofpeopleonmarssayselonmusk

MarsArtGallery.com: A Showcase for Artistic Renditions of Mars Based on Robotic Mission Data

Sands of Mars
“Sands of Mars” Source: Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity
From a number of images taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, this picture was constructed by Jim Plaxco, a digital artist, photographer and owner of Artsnova (http://Artsnova.com). Individual frames were all taken by Opportunity’s Left Panoramic Camera, with each frame being exposed using a different filter.
“Alien Spectrum” Source: Viking Lander 1
This second image is also hosted by the Mars Art Gallery, which was formally launched in March 2005 to serve as “a showcase for artistic renditions of Mars based on data returned by robotic missions.”  The above image, titled “Alien Spectrum” has been processed to depict Mars as it might be seen by: “eyes not of this Earth.  Evolution has given humans a set of eyes that are responsive to a particular range of electromagnetic radiations and we perceive those radiations as color.”  A wallpaper image and more information can be found here: http://www.marsartgallery.com/s_alienspectrum.html