1st Hiking Map of Mars

Pull on your backpack!!

Scientists using data from the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft have produced the first 'hiker's maps' of Mars.

These topo maps give detailed height contours and names of geological features in the Iani Chaos region; the maps could become a standard reference for future Martian research.

The contour lines are superimposed upon high-resolution images of Mars, taken by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard Mars Express.

The map is a fascinating document of an unknown area. To me, it's a work of art, a thing of beauty and mystery and almost religious awe. It reminds me of the early maps of the European explorers in the new world.

Today, there are no remaining white spaces of the maps of our planet. The white space is our "new world" of space exploration -an necessary component I suspect for the DNA-coded curiosity and imagination of the human species.