A New Perspective on Mars - Temporary Exhibition
This is a past exhibition
15 February to
15 April 2011
Typical time required:
30 – 60 minutes
Since late 2003, the European spacecraft Mars Express has been orbiting Mars to study its geology, mineralogy and atmosphere. The main aim of the mission is to look for signs of water which is believed to have covered large expanses of the planet’s surface in its early history. One of the seven scientific experiments on board the probe is the German High-Resolution Stereo Camera, HRSC, and the images produced by this camera form the basis of this exhibition.
Each of the six natural forces that have shaped the landscape on Mars over billions of years – volcanism, water, ice, erosion, wind, and tectonics – is presented in large 3D images of the surface of the Red Planet. Viewed with red-blue 3D glasses, these anaglyph images provide a stunning impression of this alien and yet curiously familiar landscape.
This exhibition by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) is presented in partnership with:
If you happen to have a pair of red-blue anaglyph glasses, here are some samples of the 3D images in the exhibition:
Parasite Craters on Arsia Mons – On Arsia Mons, the southernmost of the three Tharsis volcanoes, a fault line runs through the mountain. Along the fault zone, a chain of “parasite craters” formed on Arsia’s flanks. The emptied magma chambers collapsed down to two thousand metres in depth.
The „Hourglass“ Double Crater – There is an unusual structure on the eastern rim of the Hellas impact basin. A mixture of ice, water and rocks has accumulated between several mountains and slit down the slopes: at first in a seven kilometre wide bowlshaped impact crater, and then further in a crater with a diameter of 17 kilometres situated 700 metres below.
Chaos on Mars – Once huge quantities of water forced their way through the Hydraotes Chaos landscape on their way to the northern lowland plains. Millions of cubic metres of rock were degraded. What was left behind is an unusual, wildly structured landscape with hundreds of three kilometres high table mountains.