TOPOGRAPHIC ATLAS OF MARS 
Sherman S. C. Wu And Annie Howington-Kraus 
Bechtel Nevada, Remote Sensing Laboratory, USDOE 
P.O.Box 95821, Las Vegas, NV 89193-8521 USA 
Commission IV, Working Group 5 
KEY WORDS: Mars, Atlas, Topography, Planetary Mapping, Book 
ABSTRACT: 
Topographic Atlas of Mars is the publication of a book which describes developed mapping techniques and 
archives topographic products of Mars. Using topographic data from various scientific experiments of Mars 
missions and from Earth-based radar observations, topography of the entire Martian surface has been 
systematically mapped at various scales by the United States Geological Survey(USGS) in Flagstaff, Arizona. 
These topographic products are the first and will retain as the most comprehensive topographic maps of Mars. 
This book consists of six chapters as outlined in the Table of Contents. Chapter 1 briefly discuses Mars, Mars 
missions and mapping strategies. Chapter 2 defines the coordinate system of Mars and map projections used 
for mars mapping. Chapter 3 discusses the derivation of topographic datum of Mars. Chapter 4 discusses the 
Mars planetwide topographic control network. Chapter 5 describes special techniques developed for 
photogrammetric mapping of Mars using the Viking Orbiter images. Chapter 6 discusses nomenclature and users' 
guide of Mars maps. With these topographic products, mars elevation above and below the topographic datum 
are found to be 6796 and 33%, respectively. The mean elevation is about 1.876 km above the datum. 
The Table of Contents of the book is listed as in the following. This paper discusses only briefly of each of the 
six chapters. 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
List of Illustration 
List of Table 
Preface 
1. Introduction 
1.1 Mars 
1.2 Summary of Mars Missions 
1.3 Mars Mapping History 
1.4 Strategy and Data Sources for Mars Mapping 
2. Coordinate System and Map Projections 
2.1 Martian Coordinate System 
2.2 Map Projections 
3. Topographic Datum of Mars 
3.1 The Gravity Field of Mars 
3.2 The Figure of Mars 
3.3 The Topographic Datum of Mars 
4. Planetwide Topographic Control Network of Mars 
4.1 Photography and Photogrammetry 
4.2 Visual Image System, Format, Resolution, and Quality of Viking Mars missions 
4.3 Image Processing and Geometric Fidelity 
4.4 Concept and Mathematical Model of Analytical Aerotriangulation 
4.5 Block Adjustment Process 
4.6 Analysis of Mars Control Network 
5. Topographic Mapping and Digital Terrain Model of Mars 
5.1 Mapping Techniques and Equipment 
5.1.1 Special Mapping Techniques Using Viking Orbital Imagery 
5.1.2 AS-11 Analytical Stereoplotter : 
5.2 Mars Topographic Map Series 
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International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B4. Vienna 1996 
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