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Mars Orbital Gallery Index

Last Updated September 25, 2006.

This page is an index to the digital art that has been created using images of Mars taken by various Mars orbiting satellites. All of the images shown here have been digitally enhanced and manipulated in a variety of ways to varying extents. Some are realistic depictions of the surface of Mars. Others make use of artistic license in order to create some more interesting images. I have also used Mars image data as a source of inspiration for the creation of entirely abstract images. These images are on display in the Abstract Gallery. Additional orbital images can be found in the Crater Gallery and the Moon Gallery.

With respect to the images in the Orbital Gallery, please be aware that a number of these images are not meant to provide scientifically accurate portrayals of the surface of Mars. This is especially true with respect to color. For many of the color images that I have created, no color information was available - only albedo data. Therefore, true color is a matter of conjecture.

My work with orbital images of the planet Mars has been focused on those images returned by the two Viking orbiters and the Mars Global Surveyor mission. I have also worked with imagery returned by Mariner 9 and Mars Odyssey and have used those images in a variety of educational presentations about the planet Mars. I have not yet published any of those images here. With respect to the Mars Global Surveyor Mar Observer Camera (MOC), I have worked primarily with the images returned by the Narrow Angle camera.

While it is possible to download fully processed images from the various missions to Mars, I prefer to work with the raw unmodified image data. My desire is to make the images that I create totally my own by starting with the raw data and using my image processing and artistic skills to create my own unique visions of Mars. In fact, for at least two images (not yet published on this web site), I have exploited the presence of striping in the image, an artifact of the push-broom camera system, to produce a final effect I found attractive. This would not have been possible using the post-processed images distributed by NASA.

The Images

Images are listed here based on the order in which they were added to the web site, not the order in which they were created. The most recently added image appears at the top of the list.