Mapping a whole planet - the new topographic series 1:200 000 for planet Mars

Abstract

The planet Mars has been subject to observation and mapping attempts since decades. Due to the quality of image date, mapping was restricted to small or medium scales. It was the purpose of the German camera experiment on the Russian mission Mars96 to provide high resolution image data of the planet's surface. According to the potential of the cameras the scale 1:200 000 was selected as primary map scale. The new series "Topographic Image Map MARS 1:200 000" is designed in equal area map projections. The Sinusoidal Projection has been selected forthe representation of the entire planet except the polar regions which are mapped in Lambert Azimuthal Projection. The paper describes the conception of the new map series for planet Mars, the map sheet definitions and layout.