The highest-resolution global image of Mars ever created is now available for viewing by armchair astronomers.

The interactive map was produced at California Institute of Technology using data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and incorporates 110,000 images collected by the spacecraft’s black-and-white Context Camera (CTX) that cover nearly 270 ft2 (25 m2) of surface per pixel.

An algorithm was developed to match images based on the features they captured, and those images that the algorithm could not match were manually stitched together. The remaining gaps in the mosaic represent parts of Mars that had not been imaged by CTX by start of the mapping project, or areas obscured by clouds or dust.

Click around the publicly accessible 3D map to explore different regions of the planet and zoom in to see details like dust devil tracks crisscrossing the surface. Visit regions like Gale Crater and Jezero Crater, which are being explored by NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. Or tour Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system, and the many impact craters marking the surface of Mars.

To contact the author of this article, email shimmelstein@globalspec.com