WASHINGTON: On the third anniversary of the Mars landing of NASA’s Curiosity rover, the US space agency has unveiled two new online tools that open the mysterious terrain of the Red Planet to a new generation of explorers.
“Mars Trek” is a free, web-based application that provides high-quality, detailed visualisations of the planet using real data from 50 years of NASA exploration and allowing astronomers, citizen scientists and students to study the Red Planet’s features.
The second tool named “Experience Curiosity” allows viewers to travel along with the one-ton rover on its Martian expeditions.
The tool simulates Mars in 3D, based on actual data from Curiosity and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, giving users first-hand experience in a day in the life of a Mars rover.
“This tool has opened my eyes as to how we should first approach roaming on another world, and now the public can join in on the fun,” said Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division in Washington, DC.
“Our robotic scientific explorers are paving the way, making great progress on the journey to Mars. Together, humans and robots will pioneer Mars and the solar system,” he added.
A NASA team already is using Mars Trek to aid in the selection of possible landing sites for the agency’s Mars 2020 rover.
