The NSSDC Photo Gallery: Mars

• Global Views
• Surface Features
• Controversial Features
• Surface Views
• Satellites
• Other Mars Resources at NSSDC

Global Views

The first images presented herein are global mosaics of Mars, reproduced from Volume 14 of the Mission to Mars CD-ROM set.

Mosaic of Mars Visible in the center of this mosaic is the largest known chasm, Valles Marinaris. (Image MF07S078 on the CD-ROM) ( 256K)
Select here if you wish to read the caption.

Another mosaic of Mars, Cerberus region (Image MF07S078 on the CD-ROM) ( 194K)
Select here if you wish to read the caption.

Yet another mosaic of Mars, this time of the Syrtis Major region. (Image MF01S306 on the CD-ROM) ( 287K)
Select here if you wish to read the caption.

The following three global images were taken by the Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2 on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Valles Marinaris region (centered on roughly 60 degrees longitude) ( 35K)

Tharsis region (centered on roughly 160 degrees longitude) ( 34K)

Syrtis Major region (centered on roughly 270 degrees longitude) ( 35K)
Select here if you wish to read the caption.

Finally, a digitial image model (DIM) and topographic map of Mars.

Digital Image Model (DIM) of Mars ( 162K)
Topographic Map of Mars (Sinusoidal Projection) ( 82K)

Surface Features

The first two images here are also reproduced from Volume 14 of the Mission to Mars CD-ROM set.

Southern Polar Cap

This mosaic shows the southern polar cap of Mars.

Martian southern polar region ( 76K)

Olympus Mons

One of the best known features on the Martian surface and the largest known volcano, Olympus Mons.

Mosaic of Olympus Mons ( 215K)

Close-up mosaic of Olympus Mons' caldera ( 98K)

Inca City

During the Mariner 9 mission, scientists found an unusual rectilinear structure associated with the south polar pitted terrain which they dubbed the "Inca City". Located near -80 degrees latitude and 64 degrees longitude, it is likely the result of wind deflation of deposits from underllying rough terrain. The "cells" in the image are about 4-5 kilometers in width.

Mariner 9 image of the "Inca City" (Image number 1417-160341) ( 50K)

Viking 2 also imaged the region, but no evidence of the feature was visible in this image from orbit 225. It has been enhanced to bring out the details (noise reduced and contrast enhanced). The resolution of the original image is 0.544 km/pixel and is centered at -81.56 degrees latitude and 69.82 degrees longitude. The image is available on volume 55 of the Mission to Mars: Viking Orbiter Images of Mars CD-ROM set.

Viking 2 image of the region around the "Inca City" (Image number F225B69) ( 158K)

On a later orbit (421), Viking 2 again imaged the region. This time, the Inca City is clearly visible. This image was taken through the red filter. It has been enhanced to bring out the details (noise reduced and contrast enhanced). The resolution of this image is 0.146 km/pixel and is centered at -81.82 degrees latitude and 59.59 degrees longitude. This image is available on volume 59 of the Mission to Mars: Viking Orbiter Images of Mars CD-ROM set.

Viking 2 image of the region around the "Inca City" (Image number F421B64) ( 128K)

Controversial Features

The following images were taken by the Viking 1 and 2 orbiters. They are among the most requested images which NSSDC archives. These images were taken of the region on Mars known as Cydonia Mensae and contain the feature commonly known as the "face". All of the images here have been rotated clockwise 90 degrees to reorient them so that north is toward the upper left corner. There are two versions of the images present here. The first of each pair is an unprocessed ("raw") version of the image taken of the area. Other than the processing necessary to create a JPEG image from the PDS formatted image file, the images are unchanged from the originals on Volumes 10, 11, 21, 28, and 63 of the Mission to Mars: Viking Orbiter Images of Mars CD-ROM set. The second of each pair has had the noise level reduced and the image sharpened using Image4PDS, a freeware program available from NSSDC. Finally, Color It!(tm) was used to adjust the contrast. (If you have any questions about the "face" on Mars, please refer to our Planetary Frequently Asked Questions page. Detailed information on the first two exposures (035A72 and 070A13) is also available.) The sizes of these images range from 120-504 KB.

Raw image of 035A72 Processed image of 035A72
Raw image of 070A13 Processed image of 070A13
Raw image of 561A25 Processed image of 561A25
Raw image of 673B56 Processed image of 673B56
Raw image of 753A33 Processed image of 753A33

The next image is just the "face" itself, taken from image 035A72. The image was clipped, inverted (to produce the usual orientation which has been published), magnified by a factor of three, and contrast enhanced again, all using Color It!(tm). (Note: Much of the "blocky" nature of the image is caused by the lossy compression scheme used in JPEG files.)

The "face" on Mars (magnified three times) ( 9K)

Surface Views

The following images were taken by the Viking 1 and 2 Landers. The first, second, and fourth panoramas were created by Mary A. Dale-Bannister, Washington University in St. Louis. The third was constructed by Edward A. Guinness, Washington University in St. Louis. These synthetic high resolution color images were created by combining standard low resolution Viking Lander color images with standard high resolution Viking Lander black and white images, using image processing techniques. In simple terms, the colors are separated from the color image. Using the computer, those colors are then painted onto high resolution images covering the same area. The third image is about what would be seen if the Martian surface materials were on Earth. The other three images have colors balanced to approximate what a person would see on Mars. Since the Martian atmosphere carries extremely fine-grained red dust in suspension the "on Mars" images are redder.

A view of the Martian surface (Viking 1) ( 316K)
Select here if you wish to read the caption.

Another view of the Martian surface (Viking 1) ( 108K)
Select here if you wish to read the caption.

A view of the Martian surface (Viking 2) ( 512K)
Select here if you wish to read the caption.

Another view of the Martian surface (Viking 2) ( 642K)
Select here if you wish to read the caption.

Satellites

The following image is from Volume 14 of the Mission to Mars: Viking Orbiter Images of Mars CD-ROM set.

Mars' largest satellite, Phobos (Image F242A21) ( 37K)

Other Mars Resources at NSSDC

Read about the Mariner 9 mission
Read about the Viking missions
Read about the Phobos missions
Read about the Hubble Space Telescope
Read about the Mars Pathfinder mission
Read about the Mars Global Surveyor mission

Mars Fact Sheet

Mars Frequently Asked Questions

NASA Official: J. H. King, [email protected]

Version 2.1, 29 June 1995
Last Updated: 06 March 1996, EVB II