{"id":323063,"date":"2026-03-10T21:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T21:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/323063\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T21:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T21:20:10","slug":"high-resolution-stereo-camera-captures-3d-photos-of-craters-on-mars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/323063\/","title":{"rendered":"High Resolution Stereo Camera Captures 3D Photos of Craters on Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Counting_craters_in_Mars_s_ancient_highlands-800x250.jpg\" alt=\"A detailed, color-enhanced aerial view of the Martian surface shows several impact craters, rough terrain, and shadowy regions in shades of brown, tan, and blue.\" width=\"800\" height=\"250\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-843257\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Science_Exploration\/Space_Science\/Mars_Express\/Counting_craters\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\">Newly published<\/a> high-resolution photos of Mars show some of the red planet\u2019s many craters in exceptional, colorful detail. <\/p>\n<p>Mars is a regular source of interesting new photos. From <a href=\"https:\/\/petapixel.com\/2025\/12\/17\/a-high-resolution-camera-orbiting-mars-captured-its-100000th-photo\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">detailed shots of the planet captured from orbit<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/petapixel.com\/2026\/01\/30\/nasas-curiosity-rover-lights-up-mars-for-very-rare-night-photo\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">rare night photos<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/petapixel.com\/2025\/12\/31\/nasa-probe-captures-postcard-of-mars-that-blends-day-and-night\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">everything in between<\/a>, no alien planet is as photographed as Mars. <\/p>\n<p>The exciting new shots of Mars were captured by the European Space Agency\u2019s (ESA) High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard ESA\u2019s orbital <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Science_Exploration\/Space_Science\/Mars_Express\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\">Mars Express<\/a> mission. The HRSC is tasked with capturing full-color, 3D images of the entire Martian surface at 10-meter resolution. However, the camera can pinpoint specific parts of the surface and capture images with even better two-meter resolution. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/A_view_from_above_an_ancient_crater_in_Arabia_Terra-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"A high-resolution image shows a large, round impact crater on a rocky, reddish-brown Martian surface with several smaller craters nearby, under soft lighting.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-843260\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the camera\u2019s greatest strengths is the unprecedented pointing accuracy achieved by combining images at the two different resolutions,\u201d ESA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Science_Exploration\/Space_Science\/Mars_Express\/Mars_Express_orbiter_instruments\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\">explains<\/a>. \u201cAnother will be the 3D imaging which will reveal the topography of Mars in full color.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The HRSC features multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/petapixel.com\/what-is-ccd-cmos-sensor\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CCD image sensors<\/a> mounted in parallel. They capture images simultaneously from slightly different perspectives, enabling stereoscopic data capture that helps scientists map Mars\u2019 topography. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mars-hrsc-featured-800x420.jpg\" alt=\"A high-resolution image of the Martian surface shows several impact craters of varying sizes on a dusty, reddish-brown landscape with some shadowed and rough textured areas.\" width=\"800\" height=\"420\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-843261\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe strength of HRSC is to perform high resolution digital terrain models of the martian surface in order to provide topographic context for the geoscientific evaluation of surface processes in space and time,\u201d explains Ralf Jaumann, from the Institute of Planetary Research, DLR, Berlin, who was previously the HRSC Principal Investigator. <\/p>\n<p>This high-resolution prowess is on full display in the new photos, which capture part of Arabia Terra, a plain in Mars\u2019 \u201cancient highlands\u201d known for its high crater density, each formed when space rocks struck the planet\u2019s surface. As ESA notes, Arabia Terra has had between 3.7 and 4.1 billion years to amass its \u201cimpressive crater collection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Bird_s-eye_view_of_Trouvelot_Crater-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"A high-resolution image of a rugged Martian landscape showing cratered terrain, rocky ridges, and elevated plateaus with varying shades of brown, orange, and purple. Image credit: ESA\/DLR\/FU Berlin.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-843258\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>These craters are of great interest to scientists, as they offer clearer views of Mars\u2019 geology and help explain the planet\u2019s rich, often mysterious history. Some of these craters are as wide as 130 kilometers (nearly 81 miles). <\/p>\n<p>Since the Mars Express mission launched in 2003, the HRSC has diligently mapped the planet\u2019s surface, \u201creturning insights that have drastically changed our understanding of our planetary neighbor.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Image credits: ESA\/DLR\/FU Berlin  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newly published high-resolution photos of Mars show some of the red planet\u2019s many craters in exceptional, colorful detail.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1022,6248,111,139,69,19794,147,392,101264],"class_list":{"0":"post-323063","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-esa","9":"tag-mars","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-planet","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-space","16":"tag-stereo"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}