Google Helps You Explore Mars

Google is the developer of the most known application that allows you to view maps captured directly from the satellites and other images from all around the world directly from your desktop. Google Earth is one of the most popular tools in its category and a powerful rival for Microsoft's Virtual Earth, being downloaded by millions of users. The company also owns another similar service, Google Maps that allows you to use the features provided by Google Earth using a web-based interface.

The two solutions developed by the search giant are more and more popular, being used even by the terrorists to organize attacks against UK troops located in Basra. Because Google already conquered the Earth, the company is now aiming to allow you to view Mars, using an interesting service provided with NASA scientists' help.

Google Mars is a solution similar to Maps that allows you to view different captures with planet Mars using the official page of the service. Just like the Earth version, Google Mars allow you to zoom in and out, the color of relief map depending on the altitude of the displayed elements. Currently, the service provides 3 ways for viewing Mars:

- Elevation - A shaded relief map, generated with data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. This map is color-coded by altitude, so you can use the color key at the lower left to estimate elevations.
- Visible - A mosaic of images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. MOC is like the digital camera you have at home. Basically, this is what your eyes would see if you were on orbit around Mars.
- Infrared - A mosaic of infrared images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Warmer areas appear brighter, and colder areas are darker. Clouds and dust in the atmosphere are transparent in the infrared, making this the sharpest global map of Mars that's ever been made.