20,000 Images

NASA makes 20,000 images of Mars available on Internet
Associated Press, May 23, 2000

NASA has made more than 20,000 images of Mars available as a Web-based photo album. The pictures taken by the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor constitute the single largest one-time release of images for any planet in the history of solar system exploration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Monday. The archive covers one Mars year, 687 Earth days, beginning in September 1997 and extending through August 1999. The release allows anyone with Internet access to explore Mars in much the same way as planetary researchers do, said Ken Edgett, staff scientist at Malin Space Science Systems, a San Diego firm that operates Surveyor's camera. "They can experience them the same way that Mars Global Surveyor scientists do - one at a time, no captions or explanations, just 'Here it is. What does it show me?"' Edgett said in a statement. Mars Global Surveyor was launched on Nov. 7, 1996, and arrived at Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. It has completed more than 5,000 orbits of the Red Planet.