The cover of This Is Mars appears like a drawn-out, drippy stain, frozen in time in black-and-white. This is just one many stills from the expansive photography book offering an intimate look at the Red Planet. Though only half the diameter of Earth, Mars is theorized to be a desolate, cold planet and thus suited for monochrome color and abstract documentation.
Each photo upon the pages of This Is Mars originated from a map create by the U.S. observation satellite, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, or MRO. The map was broken down into thousands of gigabytes and edited by the French designer and publisher, Xavier Barral. The book is a study in both Mars’ visual wonder as well as the planet’s scientific history. An introduction from research scientist and expert on planet imaging, Alfred S. McEwen, as well as an essay on Mars’ evolution by French astrophysicist Francis Rocard enhance the book’s examination of the dusty, often misunderstood planet.
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See a few images from the 297-page This Is Mars, below:
Valles Marineris, Hill of Bright Deposits, LAT: -12.7º LONG: 313.9º: from This Is Mars (Aperture, 2017). © Nasa/JPL/The University of Arizona
Branch-like Forms on the Floor of the Antoniadi Crater, LAT: 21.4º LONG: 61.3º: from This Is Mars (Aperture, 2017). © Nasa/JPL/The University of Arizona
Stratified, Sedimentary Buttes in the Region of Argyre, LAT: -49.8º LONG: 302.9º: from This Is Mars (Aperture, 2017). © Nasa/JPL/The University of Arizona
Barkhanes in the Crater Zone, LAT: -41.5º LONG: 44.6º: from This Is Mars (Aperture, 2017). © Nasa/JPL/The University of Arizona
Polar Region of the South, Fans and Polygons, LAT: -87.3º LONG: 168º: from This Is Mars (Aperture, 2017). © Nasa/JPL/The University of Arizona
Northern zone of the Meridiani Planum, linear crests LAT: 11.9º LONG: 0.7º. © Nasa/JPL/The University of Arizona
Aram Chaos, central zone at the large depression LAT: 3.1º LONG: 340.2º. © Nasa/JPL/The University of Arizona
High Region of the Polar North, Multiple-Unconformities of Sedimentary Strata, LAT: 79.7º LONG: 23.4º: from This Is Mars (Aperture, 2017). © Nasa/JPL/The University of Arizona
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To order a copy of This Is Mars, visit the photography and arts organization, Aperture’s, website, here.
Related:
Explore the Red Planet with a Mega-Map of Mars’ Topography
NASA’s Closer to Saturn Than Ever—Here Are Pics to Prove It
NASA’s Massive Photo Archives Is Now on One Convenient, Searchable Site
Source: vice.com