NASA releases 3D map of Mars with images taken by rover

If you’re curious to know what it’s like to walk on Mars now is your chance with a new 3D map that allows you to explore the red planet from your desktop.

In collaboration with Google, Nasa has created ‘Access Mars’ that lets users wander the dunes and valleys explored by Nasa’s Curiosity rover.

The immersive experience is available on all desktop and mobile devices. 

For those with VR/AR headsets including mobile-based VR devices on Apple and Android users can transform their whole living room into the red planet.

CURIOSITY ROVER

In collaboration with Google, Nasa has created Access Mars that lets users wander the actual dunes and valleys explored by Nasa’s Curiosity rover. 

Curiosity’s top speed is 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per second.

It’s the fourth rover to visit Mars, and took around seven minutes to land on the red planet.

The rover is fitted with 17 cameras, and weighs about the same as a Mini Cooper at about 2,000lb (900kg).

Scientists considered 60 different possible landing sites before deciding to set Curiosity down in Gale Crater. 

The experience was adapted from Nasa JPL’s OnSight software which assists scientists in planning rover drives and even holding meetings on Mars.

First rolled out in 2015, the technology has made studying Martian geology accessible for more people.

Users can visit four key site that have been explored on Mars – the Curiosity’s landing site, Murray Buttes, Marias Pass and Pahrump Hills.

At the first three locations, users can zero in on objects of scientific interest, including rock outcrops and mud cracks. 

The rover’s latest location on lower Mt. Sharp will be periodically updated to reflect the mission’s ongoing progress.

Curiosity’s top speed is 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per second.

It’s the fourth rover to visit Mars, and took around seven minutes to land on the red planet.

‘We’ve been able to leverage VR and AR technologies to take our scientists to Mars every single day,’ said Victor Luo, lead project manager at JPL’s Ops Lab, which led the collaboration.

 The experience was adapted from JPL’s OnSight software which assists scientists in planning rover drives and even holding meetings on Mars

Curiosity's top speed is 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per second.  It's the fourth rover to visit Mars, and took around seven minutes to land on the red planet

Curiosity’s top speed is 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per second.  It’s the fourth rover to visit Mars, and took around seven minutes to land on the red planet

The rover is fitted with 17 cameras, and weighs about the same as a Mini Cooper at about 2,000lb (900kg)

The rover is fitted with 17 cameras, and weighs about the same as a Mini Cooper at about 2,000lb (900kg)

‘With Access Mars, everyone in the world can ride along.’

The rover is fitted with 17 cameras, and weighs about the same as a Mini Cooper at about 2,000lb (900kg).

Scientists considered 60 different possible landing sites before deciding to set Curiosity down in Gale Crater.

‘Immersive technology has incredible potential as a tool for scientists and engineers,’ Dr Luo said.

‘It also lets us inspire and engage the public in new ways’, he said. 

At the first three locations, users can zero in on objects of scientific interest, including rock outcrops and mud cracks. The rover's latest location on lower Mt. Sharp will be periodically updated to reflect the mission's ongoing progress

At the first three locations, users can zero in on objects of scientific interest, including rock outcrops and mud cracks. The rover’s latest location on lower Mt. Sharp will be periodically updated to reflect the mission’s ongoing progress

 Users can visit four key site that have been explored on Mars - the Curiosity's landing site, Murray Buttes, Marias Pass and Pahrump Hills

 Users can visit four key site that have been explored on Mars – the Curiosity’s landing site, Murray Buttes, Marias Pass and Pahrump Hills

First rolled out in 2015, the technology has made studying Martian geology accessible for more people. The rover is fitted with 17 cameras, and weighs about the same as a Mini Cooper

First rolled out in 2015, the technology has made studying Martian geology accessible for more people. The rover is fitted with 17 cameras, and weighs about the same as a Mini Cooper

Scientists considered 60 different possible landing sites before deciding to set Curiosity down in Gale Crater. Pictured is the programme in use

Scientists considered 60 different possible landing sites before deciding to set Curiosity down in Gale Crater. Pictured is the programme in use

For those with VR/AR headsets including mobile-based VR devices on Apple and Android users can transform their whole living room into the red planet

For those with VR/AR headsets including mobile-based VR devices on Apple and Android users can transform their whole living room into the red planet

In June 2013, Curiosity found powerful evidence that water good enough to drink once flowed on Mars.

In September of the same year, the first scoop of soil analysed by Curiosity revealed that fine materials on the surface of the planet contain two per cent water by weight.

Earlier this year observations collected by NASA’s Curiosity rover over 3.5 years revealed that oxygen levels in an ancient Martian lake differed between shallow and deep water.

And, researchers say this phenomenon is also common in lakes on Earth.

The discovery is a step toward better understanding whether Mars was ever able to support life, as this type of environment could have created ‘multiple opportunities for different types of microbes to survive.’ 

 

 

 

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