Now you can see Mars in 3D!
By Michael W. Jones
If you can’t get enough of Mars, or of space exploration in general, you might like to see what scientist and author Jim Bell has been up to. The author of earlier books of images from the Moon and Mars, Bell has manipulated the much better color images from the Martian surface to produce a stunning coffee table book of 3D images of the Martian surface. This may be the perfect holiday gift for the armchair astronomer on your list.
As it turns out, the Martian rovers were built in a way that makes this possible. Rover images are routinely taken using camera lenses that are about as far apart as the human eye. Three-dimensional imaging for your living room is not the reason; the stereo images allow the Rover management teams to get a better idea of Martian distances. This, in turn, allows them to do a more precise job of navigation over the Martian surface.
Speaking of the stereo imaging system, Bell says, “There are really important reasons in terms of driving, mobility and trafficability to have that information. Using the parallax is a great way to determine the size of features, and to determine the slopes. … If there was water here, would it flow in this direction, or that direction?”
In addition to his earlier book with lunar images from Apollo visits, Bell also assembled Martian volume, Postcards from Mars, with some of the best photographs ever taken on the surface of Mars. The new book, Mars 3-D, offers three dimensional photographs from Mars and comes with your very own set of stereo-effect red / blue glasses.
Bell is an associate professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. He has been involved on the imaging side of the Mars Rover missions almost since their inception. He is a member of the Science Teams of the NASA Mars Pathfinder, Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR), Mars Odyssey Orbiter, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions, and is the leader of the Pancam color camera team on the Mars Exploration Rover (Athena) missions.
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