| Data obtained from the National
Space Science Data Center has been utilized to create this magnificent Mars
replica. Elevations were calculated from the Mars Orbiter Laser
Altimeter (MOLA) database, which recorded 600 million data points as the
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft orbited the planet. Mountain heights are exaggerated by 20 times
in this first-of-its-kind, extreme raised-relief globe of Mars. A digital
globe, so-called because it is created by laser beams hitting liquid
plastic, under digital control of a computer that is following digital
instructions that give a mathematically correct exaggeration for the plastic
mountains. The quantization of the plastic construction is visible as
triangles, rectangles and trapezoids.
The 18 inch Mars Globe 20x has raised relief for the mountains. The
mountain heights are exaggerated by 20 times. Each globe features over a
million elevation points.
The globes are made from discrete layers of plastic that are laid down
on top of each other using 200 layers per inch. The 18 inch globes use about
3600 layers.
The Mars 20x Globe comes with custom display stand and proprietary
crating.
Diameter: 18"
Weight: 25 lbs.
Shipping Wt: 40 lbs. (extra packaging required goes into "oversize" rates)
Item #: RG-MARS20X
PRICE: $890.00
SOLD OUT, NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Click here to view the Ocean Floor
Raised Relief Globe
Click here to view the Land Globe 250X
|
 On November 7, 1996, NASA successfully launched The
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mission. The mission was intended to
recover most of the science objectives of the ill-fated Mars Observer
Mission, which was lost three days before it was to enter Mars orbit in
August, 1993. Included in the MGS instrument payload was the Mars
Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). The objective of the MOLA
investigation was to globally map the topography of Mars at a resolution to
permit global and regional scale scientific analyses as well as to aid in
the future targeting of surface landers. The Mars Global Surveyor
successfully inserted into orbit around Mars on September 11, 1997.
Over the Fall of 1997, MOLA collected eighteen 20-minute topographic
profiles of the northern hemisphere of Mars. More data was collected
during the Spring and Summer of 1998. MOLA stopped collecting data at
the end of July, 1998. The MGS continued with its mapping mission, observing
the planet almost continuously through January, 2001. MGS is now on
its extended mission, which NASA has approved through September, 2004.
The MOLA oscillator stopped functioning on June 30, 2001 but MOLA continues
to collect data in a passive radiometry mode.
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1-World Global Gifts
