Go on a Virtual Trip to Mars

Go on a Virtual Trip to Mars 77

Posted by michael on Saturday November 06, 2004 @06:08AM from the diy dept.

Jaroslaw Zachwieja writes "The Druantia Virtual Trip to Mars Project has made access to MOLA data simplier than ever. The data is served as 16bit PNG files. A bash script and interpolation program is available to automate the retrieving process. Druantia project (still a little baby in need of developers) aims to allow anyone with decent graphic card and broadband internet connection to explore Mars and interact with other participants connected. The data served is the highest publicly available set with one pixel for approx. 460 meters and (uncompressed) takes 2GB of disk space. Meet you at Olympus Mons? :)"

Go on a Virtual Trip to Mars

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Retirement (Score:5, Funny)

by pmc255 ( 828453 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @06:12AM (#10741033)

Hmm, a good way to start scoping out some prime real estate for my retirement :)

- Re:Retirement (Score:2, Funny)
  
  by Anonymous Coward writes:
  
  dont forget your sunscreen ;)
- Re:Retirement (Score:3, Interesting)
  
  by bvdbos ( 724595 ) writes:
  
  Did you read the website. Currently it's snowing on Mars, though not water but CO2... When is the next mission to Mercure?
  - Re:Retirement (Score:2)
    
    by Gordonjcp ( 186804 ) writes:
    
    Sounds good to me... Currently it's 18C in Glasgow, far too hot for this time of year.
- Re:Retirement (Score:1, Offtopic)
  
  by pipingguy ( 566974 ) writes:
  
  This was modded as funny, but if your 401K isn't up to snuff, retiring down south where the dollar goes further is not exactly a bad idea.
  
  Then again, once the Mexicans realizes that rich, fat, old (possibly less succesful) Americans are coming, the real estate prices will quintuple. Or will they?
  
  Some cultures are less-based on hype and are welcoming.
- Prime space real estate already for sale! (Score:2, Informative)
  
  by Teechur007 ( 305420 ) writes:
  
  Believe it or not...real estate IS being sold in space [dailytimes.com.pk]...damn you Tom Cruise! :) --Teechur007
- Great! (Score:2)
  
  by zoloto ( 586738 ) writes:
  
  Wow, how many years will we have to watch a "windows screensaver" before the red planet comes into view... and do we have to restart the mission (ie. the screensaver) when we want to check our email?
Last week on BBC4: Stephen Baxter's Voyage (Score:5, Interesting)

by NZheretic ( 23872 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @06:24AM (#10741045) Homepage Journal

Stephen Baxter's alternate history novel Voyage [sfsite.com] has been BBC4 radio 7th dimention play of the week [bbc.co.uk].
Baxter's alternative begins with Lee Harvey Oswald's assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy in Dallas. Although Kennedy is hit, he survives, Jacqueline Kennedy taking the fatal bullet. Kennedy's injuries, however, force him to relinquish his office to Lyndon Johnson and act as a cheerleader for the space program he began as president. The space program then continues much as in our world, including the landing of Neil Armstrong and Joe Muldoon on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Baxter's changes come slowly, as if to say the inertia of history must be taken into account. Eventually, Nixon, at Kennedy's urgings, chooses a Mars program instead of merely the shuttle program he chose in our timeline.
It's worth listening to, but is only available for one week, the first online (realplayer) episode [bbc.co.uk] will be replaced by monday.

- Re:Last week on BBC4: Stephen Baxter's Voyage (Score:1)
  
  by mordors9 ( 665662 ) writes:
  
  Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen these before.
- For Posterity - Stephen Baxter's Voyage (Score:2, Informative)
  
  by smoker2 ( 750216 ) writes:
  
  You can find all the episodes here, no time limits, free download.
  Approx 9MB each episode (5 in all)
  
  Voyage [headru.sh]
  
  ;-)
  
  (Note: firefox likes to add .ram to the downloaded filename, not necessary to play).
Related web site: exploreMarsnow (Score:5, Interesting)

by colonist ( 781404 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @06:34AM (#10741057) Journal

Mars buffs should also take a look at exploreMarsnow [exploremarsnow.org], although it focuses on a virtual Mars base rather than the planet Mars itself.

- Re:Related web site: exploreMarsnow (Score:5, Interesting)
  
  by IPFreely ( 47576 ) writes: <mark@mwiley.org> on Saturday November 06, 2004 @09:01AM (#10741260) Homepage Journal
  
  Similar sites are MarsQuest [marsquest.org] and MarsQuest Online [marsquestonline.org].
  MarsQuest includes lots of rover coverage. They have lots of Rover coverage and panorama pictures with zoom and pan and drivable rover simulations. They also have 3D drivable flyovers of several famous Mars locations.
  
Don't forget... (Score:5, Funny)

by DrXym ( 126579 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @06:35AM (#10741060)

... to pack a flashlight.

- Re:Don't forget... (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by krymsin01 ( 700838 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @06:59AM (#10741097) Homepage Journal
  
  and a towel, of course...
  
  - Re:Don't forget... (Score:2)
    
    by PhrostyMcByte ( 589271 ) writes:
    
    I'd mod you funny if I could. Apparently noone has heard of towelie [southparkstudios.com].
    - Re:Don't forget... (Score:3, Informative)
      
      by Randy Wang ( 700248 ) writes:
      
      I think he was actually referring to Douglas Adams' concept of the hitchhiker's towel, from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, forever immortalised in his writings:
      
      Roostar: "Hello. My name is Roostar. And this is my towel."
      Arthur Dent: "Hello, Roostar. Hello, towel."
- Re:Don't forget... (Score:3, Funny)
  
  by selderrr ( 523988 ) writes:
  
  and some duct tape ! Doom3 is frustrating as hell from that perspective.
Obsolescence (Score:5, Interesting)

by mirko ( 198274 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @06:39AM (#10741065) Journal

10 years ago, Doom was supposed to be a virtual trip on Mars, now it looks a little old, I guess it will soon happen to be the same with this.
Hence my question : why not making it a game rather than funding it with public money ?

- - Re: (Score:1)
    
    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) writes:
    
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    - Re:Obsolescence (Score:2, Interesting)
      
      by A Boy and His Blob ( 772370 ) writes:
      
      Guess I didn't pay much attention to the plot, heh. I still think Doom 1 and 2 are the best FPS' of all time. I used to be a Co-Sysop on a 4 node BBS that ran SirDoom. I haven't played any other FPS online since, and I'm 23 now. The BBS was VRBBS in Houston if anyone cares.
      
      Ahhh those were the good times. I should know better than to correct a low ID anyway. ;)
      - Doom (Classic Doom 1 and 2) is still going strong. (Score:3, Interesting)
        
        by Anonymous Coward writes:
        
        Goto www.gamers.org/pub/idgames, or
        www.doomworld.com, and you'll find people are
        still making add on levels for it.
        Not to mention the sourcecode mods (www.zdoom.org,
        to name one)
        
        I still play Doom on a regular basis, and is
        still doing well even after some of the fancy 3d
        games that came after it are long ago forgotten.
        
        Re:Doom (Classic Doom 1 and 2) is still going stro (Score:1)
        
        by A Boy and His Blob ( 772370 ) writes:
        
        Thanks, I'll check it out.
- Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @07:15AM (#10741121)
  
  Comment removed based on user account deletion
  
  - Re:Obsolescence (Score:2)
    
    by superpulpsicle ( 533373 ) writes:
    
    Oh convincing Congress won't be hard at all. Just mention WMD along with the demons, and the troops are on their way.
- Re:Obsolescence (Score:3, Interesting)
  
  by jeff munkyfaces ( 643988 ) writes:
  
  1px=460m it's going to have to be some kind of giant sim (that's a simulation of being a giant rather than [as well as] being a giant simulation.)
  
  and also the fact i think most scientists would object to it being populated with things for you to shoot
  
  The only way would be to make it a driving game - which i suppose could work (would probably be pretty dull as a game though)
  - Re:Obsolescence (Score:1)
    
    by mattyrobinson69 ( 751521 ) writes:
    
    it could have been done using an open source gaming engine, allowing you to just walk around the surface.
    
    to keep the whole thing open source would mean forks could be made and a very cool (abeit stolen from doom) game could be made.
Let's start from UnderHill (Score:3, Interesting)

by advocate_one ( 662832 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @06:43AM (#10741071)

and explore out from there... (If anyone's lost on the reference, read Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson) [clemson.edu]

- Re:Let's start from UnderHill (Score:1)
  
  by mr_snarf ( 807002 ) writes:
  
  Those were some damn good books. Of course, I stopped reading them about 1/4 of the way through Blue mars, god sort of dull. Can't remember any of it now though, maybe its time to go read it again.
  
  On that note, are there any other good fictions based on mars around that anyone can recommend?
Slashdotters, take note (Score:5, Interesting)

by Anonymous Cowdog ( 154277 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @06:43AM (#10741073) Journal

From the site, FYI:

"PS. No need to abuse the script and leech all the data. This is publicly available information, besides we plan to leave it for the entire life of the project and possibly longer ;)"

Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Map (Score:3, Interesting)

by colonist ( 781404 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @06:48AM (#10741080) Journal

Maybe Druantia could also work on Kim Stanley Robinson's terraformed Mars [xs4all.nl] (ie. Blue Mars).

I was waiting for this moment: (Score:5, Funny)

by dabigpaybackski ( 772131 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @07:19AM (#10741126) Homepage

In a thick Austrian accent: "I want to go to Maars."
But you know the weird thing is that sometimes I dream that Sharon Stone is my wife.

- Re:I was waiting for this moment: (Score:1)
  
  by Robert M. Wales ( 827012 ) writes:
  
  "But you know the weird thing is that sometimes I dream that Sharon Stone is my wife."
  
  In my opinion, the Blue Sky On Mars dream would be more probable! And, I'll even throw in a hooker with three titties to boot!
For realism sake (Score:4, Funny)

by ulpb ( 828643 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @07:31AM (#10741145)

Should make it a bit more like an actual NASA exploration of mars and after you move more than 5 meters cause some sort of flash ram error and then send your computer into a week long reboot cycle.

- Re:For realism sake (Score:1, Funny)
  
  by Anonymous Coward writes:
  
  I'll put that on the TODO list for the project, I promise :)
  
  Maybe contacting the Beagle Team to make sure the landings are realistic as well should be a good idea? /me ducks
  
  --
  JZ (no, I don't have a ./ account :)
- Re:For realism sake (Score:1)
  
  by dabigpaybackski ( 772131 ) writes:
  
  Should make it a bit more like an actual NASA exploration of mars and after you move more than 5 meters cause some sort of flash ram error and then send your computer into a week long reboot cycle.
  Meh, I like my idea better: make it like Monopoly so that you can go around buying Cydonian landmarks while being represented by a game avatar that looks like a small pewter dog.
For a really cool rendering of Mars.... (Score:3, Interesting)

by centipetalforce ( 793178 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @07:57AM (#10741171)

http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/tgd/tgd_mars_ movie.html [planetside.co.uk]

- Re:Total Recall (Score:2)
  
  by tomhudson ( 43916 ) writes:
  Remember!
  
  Go to the Mars Hilton
  
  flash the Brubaker ID
  
  get Benny the cabby to take you to the to "The Last Resort"
  
  piss off Melina
  
  go back to the hotel and put a bullet in Sharon Stone's skull (what a waste!)
  
  get mind-fucked by a mutant
  
  turn on the alien oxy generators.
  
  Where's the "Profit?" Oh, right, Hauser/Cheney doesn't exist any more.
Why not just... (Score:4, Funny)

by geg81 ( 816215 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @08:09AM (#10741183)

take this [doom3.com] virtual trip to Mars?

X-Plane (Score:5, Interesting)

by Slur ( 61510 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @08:25AM (#10741209) Homepage Journal

This would be a good map to convert into X-Plane format. Then you can fly over Mars in a bi-plane or an airliner, just like we'll be doing in 2120.

- Re:X-Plane (Score:3, Informative)
  
  by meringuoid ( 568297 ) writes:
  
  This would be a good map to convert into X-Plane format. Then you can fly over Mars in a bi-plane or an airliner, just like we'll be doing in 2120.
  Hey, that's a great idea... I'm amazed nobody's ever done it before [x-plane.com]!
  - Re:X-Plane (Score:2, Interesting)
    
    by dabigpaybackski ( 772131 ) writes:
    
    Hey, that's a great idea... I'm amazed nobody's ever done it before [x-plane.com]!
    As I recall, the x-plane models flew like shit, thanks to the nearly nonexistent Martian atmosphere. Now if somebody wants to do a blimp model, then that might be a more practical alternative to the white-knuckle experience of landing a fixed-wing Mars airplane at 400 mph. Inflateable craft are also likely to be the favored mount of future Martian explorers, though I would agree that doing Immelmans in a blimp just aren't t
    - Re:X-Plane (Score:1)
      
      by Ilgaz ( 86384 ) writes:
      
      I tried xplane on my mac and I am sure there are planes designed to fly in martian atmosphere on that game.
      
      I didn't buy the game but I sure remember it.
Complete sim? "To Mars"? (Score:2, Funny)

by MrFreshly ( 650369 ) writes:

With the 9 months worth of between planet flight time? Sounds a bit like my "Starfield" screen saver...It'd be cooler to have a Virtual Trip ON Mars...:)
Looks a lot like Worldwind.. (Score:5, Interesting)

by Myself ( 57572 ) writes: on Saturday November 06, 2004 @09:05AM (#10741267) Journal

This would be great as an add-on dataset for NASA's 3d Earth explorer [nasa.gov].

I'll be happier when I can actually visit. :)

WorldWind (Score:1, Insightful)

by Anonymous Coward writes:

Why not plug that data into NASA's WorldWind app? Have a "Red Marble" too in addition to the "Blue Marble"
Awesome! (Score:2)

by mattr ( 78516 ) writes:

Best argument for me to get a new machine with a spanking graphics card!

Would be cool if there was a bittorrent-like client to reduce traffic on main server. Hmm interesting.. you could have a P2P distributed terrain client keyed to resolution, updatable via some kind of trusted annotation.

Well anyway you know that "for the life of the project" just isn't going to be enough for most geeks and so the first 10 will swamp the server.. A good time for a t
- Re:Awesome! (Score:2)
  
  by mattr ( 78516 ) writes:
  
  ..for a torrent?
I've been on a virtual trip to Mars in Doom3 (Score:2)

by Snaller ( 147050 ) writes:

It was very dark.
shameless plug (Score:1)

by joebolte ( 704665 ) writes:

I should mention that anyone interested in 3-D astronoomy visualizations should check out Celestia [sf.net], and my site related to it, the Celestia Motherlode [celestiamotherlode.net]. We have a scaled down MOLA dataset, among others availalbe on this page [celestiamotherlode.net].
Mmm... Hi Res Goodness (Score:2)

by nick_davison ( 217681 ) writes:

The data served is the highest publicly available set with one pixel for approx. 460 meters.

Wow. Imagine if this tool with this kind of accuracy was available for Earth?!

"Dude, where are you?"
"I'm on Everest."
"No you're not."
"Yes I am! It's the biggest damn mountain on the planet."
"No, you're on a twenty pixel compression artefact."
"Damn."
Quaid! (Score:2)

by Cyno01 ( 573917 ) writes:

Start the reactor!
how about florida... (Score:1)

by zxflash ( 773348 ) writes:

they should do this for destinations on earth... every nerd would be able to have their dream vacation without leaving the safety of their home/office/cubicle

There may be more comments in this discussion. Without JavaScript enabled, you might want to turn on Classic Discussion System in your preferences instead.

Retirement (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Retirement (Score:2, Funny)

Re:Retirement (Score:3, Interesting)

Re:Retirement (Score:2)

Re:Retirement (Score:1, Offtopic)

Prime space real estate already for sale! (Score:2, Informative)

Great! (Score:2)

Last week on BBC4: Stephen Baxter's Voyage (Score:5, Interesting)

Re:Last week on BBC4: Stephen Baxter's Voyage (Score:1)

For Posterity - Stephen Baxter's Voyage (Score:2, Informative)

Related web site: exploreMarsnow (Score:5, Interesting)

Re:Related web site: exploreMarsnow (Score:5, Interesting)

Don't forget... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Don't forget... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Don't forget... (Score:2)

Re:Don't forget... (Score:3, Informative)

Re:Don't forget... (Score:3, Funny)

Obsolescence (Score:5, Interesting)

Re: (Score:1)

Re:Obsolescence (Score:2, Interesting)

Doom (Classic Doom 1 and 2) is still going strong. (Score:3, Interesting)

Re:Doom (Classic Doom 1 and 2) is still going stro (Score:1)

Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Obsolescence (Score:2)

Re:Obsolescence (Score:3, Interesting)

Re:Obsolescence (Score:1)

Let's start from UnderHill (Score:3, Interesting)

Re:Let's start from UnderHill (Score:1)

Slashdotters, take note (Score:5, Interesting)

Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Map (Score:3, Interesting)

I was waiting for this moment: (Score:5, Funny)

Re:I was waiting for this moment: (Score:1)

For realism sake (Score:4, Funny)

Re:For realism sake (Score:1, Funny)

Re:For realism sake (Score:1)

For a really cool rendering of Mars.... (Score:3, Interesting)

Re:Total Recall (Score:2)

Why not just... (Score:4, Funny)

X-Plane (Score:5, Interesting)

Re:X-Plane (Score:3, Informative)

Re:X-Plane (Score:2, Interesting)

Re:X-Plane (Score:1)

Complete sim? "To Mars"? (Score:2, Funny)

Looks a lot like Worldwind.. (Score:5, Interesting)

WorldWind (Score:1, Insightful)

Awesome! (Score:2)

Re:Awesome! (Score:2)

I've been on a virtual trip to Mars in Doom3 (Score:2)

shameless plug (Score:1)

Mmm... Hi Res Goodness (Score:2)

Quaid! (Score:2)

how about florida... (Score:1)

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