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1993-05-03
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PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 (818) 354-5011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Image processing scientists at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory have created "Mars the Movie," an
animated, three-dimensional look at the planet Mars.
Using computer-enhanced images taken by the Viking
Orbiter spacecraft, scientists have simulated a flight
through the enormous canyons and above the volcanoes of the
Martian landscape. "Mars the Movie" takes the viewer on a
tour through Valles Marineris, a canyon system near the
Martian equator that stretches farther than the distance from
Los Angeles to New York -- and over Tharsis Montes, a series
of giant volcanoes more than twice the size of Mount Everest.
The entire length of Valles Marineris is traveled
in about five seconds at an average speed of roughly 600
miles per second or 160,000 miles per hour from a vantage
point of approximately three to five miles above the surface.
During the flight, elevations vary from three miles
to 500 miles above the surface.
The relief has been exaggerated five times and the
natural color enhanced to allow better interpretation of
small surface features.
Designed to provide planetary scientists with a
better, more complete view of the surface of Mars and to
demonstrate improvements in the three-dimensional perspective
rendering technology at JPL, the production of "Mars the
Movie" required 37 days of uninterrupted computer time (15
minutes per frame) and is comprised more than 3,500 3-D
perspective rendered frames.
The simulated flight lasts about two minutes.
The digital terrain model and photo mosaic used to
create the movie were generated by the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS), Flagstaff, Arizona.
"Mars the Movie" was produced by JPL Visualization
and Earth Sciences Applications group members, Kevin J.
Hussey, Robert A. Mortensen and C.T. Kelly.
The project was funded by the NASA Office of Space
Science and Applications.
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2/01/89
MAH
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