Explore the topography (3:54 mins) Copy

On Mars, rovers have to navigate hazards such as rocky or sandy terrain, dust storms, and other inclement weather.

Now that we have set up our game environment, we’re ready to add our rover and the hazards players will need to avoid.

You may have already started to get a feel for just how treacherous the Martian terrain can be. It’s filled with craters and cliffs that could prove hazardous to rovers. To get a more detailed picture of these hazards, we’ll add a topographic layer to our map. Topography is the study of the shape and features of the land.

Open the Data menu again, search for “MGS MOLA and Mars Express HRSC, Color Hillshade Blend,” and add it to your map. This data was collected by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, or MOLA, instrument aboard NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. It uses a laser to measure the highest peaks and lowest valleys on Mars.

Try adding any other layers that look interesting to you. What information do they provide?

To remove layers, select Layers in the middle of the Data window and select the X icon to delete any you no longer want. You can also toggle the layers on and off using the eye icon. If you have several layers on top of each other, you can use the slider under each layer to change the transparency to simultaneously view multiple layers at once

Collage of images from Mars showing a rocky terrain filled with boulders, a sand dune with large ripples, and column of dust traveling across a flat red terrain and casting a dark shadow.
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