Customer Reviews

Atlas of Mars : The 1:5,000,000 Map Series

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This book, published in 1978 as NASA Special Publication, NASA SP-438, presents small-scale maps and photomosaics of the entire surface of the planet Mars. Developed by the U.S. Geological Survey with NASA cooperation, the maps are reduced-scale versions of the 1:5,000,000 topographic series (for you geologists). While the majority of the data used to develop the Atlas were obtained from the Mariner 9 mission to Mars, the remaining data was obtained from the two Viking Orbiter spacecraft which orbited the planet between 1976 through 1978. In addition to the maps of the surface of Mars, this book contains information which discusses the mapping procedures, a description of the map location and a gazeteer of feature nomenclature on Mars. With this review may seem fairly technical, the casual non-scientific reader will find these maps and photomosaics both fascinating, breathtaking and enjoyable.

It is important to note that while this book has been out of print for many years and with the many recent missions to Mars in the past decade, it is in need of an updating. Regardless, many excellent quality used copies of this book in hardback are available cost between $10 - 25.