Sky & Telescope's 15-cm Mars Globe

Now you can hold the fourth rock from the Sun in the palm of your hand with our latest Mars globe. The mosaic used for this 6-inch (15-cm) globe consists of more than 6,000 images acquired by cameras aboard NASA’s Viking orbiters. Added shading details come from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor. To create this dramatic portrayal, the editors of Sky & Telescope worked with planetary specialists at the U.S. Geological Survey to produce a custom base map showing details as small as 2 miles (3 km) across. Special image processing has preserved the natural coloring of the Martian surface while allowing labels to stand out clearly. The names of more than 120 craters and other features are shown, as are the landing sites and dates for seven NASA spacecraft. The globe comes with a freestanding, clear plastic base and an information card describing key Mars facts and how the globe was made. When it comes to space exploration, we live in especially exciting times. Our existing and future spacecra