Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Mars Express Images of Olympus Mons

Posted by michael on from the skycam dept.

tr0llb4rt0 writes "The New Scientist reports on high resolution images of Olympus Mons taken by the ESA's Mars Express probe. Earlier pictures had suffered due to problems syncronizing the images from the high resolution stereo camera but these latest images are of excellent quality and scientists expect the quality of future images to improve further. High resolution images are available at the ESA's Mars Express Multimedia Gallery."

8 of 35 comments (clear)

  1. Lava Tubes!! by WormholeFiend · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That'd be a great place to set up a base, wouldnt it?

    1. Re:Lava Tubes!! by WormholeFiend · · Score: 3, Insightful

      err slow down and stop? aerobraking? parachute?

      for the RETURN TO EARTH VEHICLE????

      plenty of atmosphere on Earth, last time I checked...

    2. Re:Lava Tubes!! by WayneConrad · · Score: 5, Informative

      [Olympus Mons has] nearly 3 times as high as the Everest summit... less gravity to escape, less fuel to burn.

      The gravity at Olympus Mons is higher than average. Check out this gravity map of Mars. All of the black spots (the spots with the highest gravity) are volcanoes; the leftmost black spot on the left hemisphere is Olympus Mons.

      Gravity decreases as you get farther away from the surface, but when you're at the surface, it is the mass of the stuff under your feet that matters.

  2. Re:From an artist's view.. by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I take it you've never been to Utah? And no, that's not a joke, the rock formations out there are breath-taking. Parts of Galaxy Quest were filmed there for that reason.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  3. Re:Question by linoleo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Yes, a great many. We are certain (well, as certain as those things ever are) that "cold" (i.e., non-lava) flows shaped those features on Mars. AFAIK the only alternative under consideration to liquid water being responsible for those flows is mixed gaseous/liquid CO2.

    --
    Be faithful to your obsessions. Identify them and be faithful to them, let them guide you like a sleepwalker. JG Ballard
  4. Image quality by rk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The top picture, while very cool and very accurate, is not actually a picture taken directly by the orbiter. Since they take stereo pictures, it is a straightforward task to recompute a new picture from a different angle.

    I've seen martian pictures done like this before, but always it was composites with different instruments, like MOC (Mars Orbital Camera) or THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging Spectrometer) to provide the visual component and MOLA (Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter) giving the third dimension data.

    Still, it's impressive as hell, and from a science standpoint will have geometric effect on the knowledge we've gained from the MGS and Odyssey orbiters. I hope Express has many years of good observations, and I look forward to ESA and NASA continuing the exploration of Mars. It's definitely a step in the right direction.

  5. Re:Question by snake_dad · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you have some time to kill read these three articles. A very nice write-up of a lot of Mars science and theories.

    --
    karma capped .sig seeking available Slashdot poster for long-term relationship.
  6. Martian Mons? by Rick+the+Red · · Score: 3, Funny
    I prefer the Venusian Mons, myself.

    (hint: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus)

    --
    If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.