marsroVR: Marth Crater

Explore the edge of the Marth Crater from "The Martian" in virtual reality!

Explore the western edge of Marth Crater on Mars from Andy Weir's "The Martian" in virtual reality!

Data from HiRISE (uahirise.org) - NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Rendered by RAVE - Aiden Lab (rave.rice.edu)

Developed by Muhammad Shamim & Marie Hoeger

Music - Pale Blue Dot by Stellardrone

Excerpt below from article by Alfred McEwen

In the book “The Martian” by Andy Weir, stranded astronaut Mark Watney is headed for the Ares 4 landing site but encounters the rim of Marth Crater just as a dust storm arrives. This HiRISE map shows the nature of this terrain.

The crater rim is not very distinct and from the ground it would be quite difficult to tell that you are even on the rim of a crater. The terrain is hummocky and rolling, punctuated by smaller impact craters and wind-blown drifts of sand or dust.

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Learn more about our work at rave.rice.edu and aidenlab.org

IMPORTANT: To properly view the app, a Virtual Reality headset (e.g. Google Cardboard, Durovis Dive, or Samsung Gear VR) should be used.