Topographical map of the Tharsis Tholus volcano complex
Topographical map of the Tharsis Tholus volcano complex
Digital terrain models can be generated using data acquired by several of the nine channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, which image the planetary surface from different angles. These allow the landscape profile to be represented pictorially and can be used to create topographic maps. North is to the right in this image. In the absence of ‘sea level’, the height information (see key at the top of the full-size image) is referenced to what is known as an areoid, a modelled equipotential surface on which everything experiences the same gravitational attraction towards the centre of the planet.
Copyright note:
As a joint undertaking by DLR, ESA and FU Berlin, the Mars Express HRSC images are published under a Creative Commons licence since December 2014: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. This licence will also apply to all HRSC images released to date.