Mapbox, a popular custom online map tool used by companies including Pinterest and Uber, has created a new set of maps that are out of this world. The amazing maps of Mars were made using data from Nasa and Esa spacecraft. They are in high-resolution, and allow users to zoom in to the surface and see key features across the red planet. Scroll down to use both maps . Washington DC-based Mapbox have created interactive maps of the surface of Mars. They use data from Nasa and Esa spacecraft to create the high-resolution detailed maps. The Mars Satellite map, shown, uses black and white imagery taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) The maps are named Mars Satellite and Mars Terrain, and were created by data analyst and mapping strategist Matt Greene at Mapbox. In December 2014 it was announced an instrument on the Curiosity rover had identified spikes of methane that scientists believe may have come from bacteria-like organisms on the surface. The discovery, reported in the journal Science, followed studies of gas samples by Curiosity's Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) - an instrument that uses intense light to carry out chemical analysis. ‘We love space, and we think it's amazing how much detail is mapped of our distant neighbour,’ said Mapbox on their website. ‘That's why we're using Mapbox's tools to make it possible to explore Mars from anywhere.’ The Mars Satellite map uses black and white imagery taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), provided by Nasa and Malin Space Science Systems. Nasa’s MGS was operational in orbit around Mars from 12 September 1997 to 2 November 2006. It was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, including its atmosphere and surface. Data from the MGS mission has been used to identify landing sites for rovers and landers on the surface. The whole surface of Mars is then rendered in high-resolution, with landing sites and geological features on the surface highlighted. Nasa’s Mars Global Surveyor, illustrated, was operational in orbit around Mars from 12 September 1997 to 2 November 2006. It was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, including its atmosphere and surface . One of the most interesting is Olympus Mons, an enormous dormant volcano that is one of the largest mountains in the solar system, measuring 16 miles (25 kilometres) tall. A second map called Mars Terrain uses vectorised hillshades and contours from digital elevation models of Mars to visualise the surface. This uses information from the Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter an instrument that was also on board the MGS. It also uses data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on Esa’s Mars Express, which has been in orbit around Mars since Christmas Day in 2003 and is still operational today. One of the most interesting features that can be seen is Olympus Mons, a huge dormant volcano that is one of the largest mountains in the solar system, measuring 16 miles (25 kilometres) tall . A second map called Mars Terrain, shown, uses vectorised hillshades and contours from digital elevation models of Mars to visualise the surface. This uses information from the Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter an instrument that was also on board the MGS .
Washington DC-based Mapbox have created interactive maps of the surface of Mars . They use data from Nasa and Esa spacecraft to create the high-resolution detailed maps . On the surface can be seen features including the huge dormant volcano, Olympus Mons . And the landing sites for the various spacecraft that have made it to the surface can also be explored .