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A US Satellite Took These Beautiful Black-and-White Photographs of Mars

Space lovers rejoice with ‘This Is Mars’ photo book.
Diana Shi
All photos courtesy Aperture, 2017. © Nasa/JPL/The University of Arizona

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 created 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

To order a copy of , visit the photography and arts organization, Aperture's, website, .

This Is Mars

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

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Tagged:SpaceplanetsThis Is Marssolar systemuniverseScienceHistoryart bookblack and white photographytelescopesnasaCreators
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