Nasa and Google have teamed up to create a virtual map to let you explore the red planet

Google and Nasa have teamed up to create a version of Google Maps for our celestial neighbour, Mars.
 
Google Mars is a site which allows people to experience the red planet without the six-month, 140-million-mile (225-million-kilometre) journey.
 
The map reveals the surface of the planet and signposts mountains, volcanoes, craters and spacecrafts.
 
Nasa satellite data has been compiled by Arizona State University researchers and is one of the most accurate maps of the planet’s surface ever created.
 
Three views reveal our planetary neighbour in great detail, with the elevation map showcasing the planet’s topography, the visible map giving the highest resolution view and an infrared map showing the planet’s varying heat signature.
 
The interactive map is used in a similar way to Google Maps and allows people to scroll, zoom and select different places.
 
Google Earth Pro lets users visit Mars too with another incredibly detailed map that reveals the planet’s surface in 3D.
 
The virtual trip to the planet will be easier and not as harsh on the body as a physical venture. 
 
Recent research has found that deep space travel could leave astronauts terminally ill.
 
Experts believe radiation exposure on long-distance, intergalactic trips could significantly damage their stomachs and intestines.
 
This is likely to result in long-term functional impairments, such as ineffective nutrient absorption, or cancer.
 
The map reveals the surface of the planet and signposts mountains, volcanoes, craters and spacecrafts. It includes iconic landmarks such as Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain in the solar system.
 
The virtual trip to the planet will be easier and not as harsh on the body as a physical venture. Google Mars is a site which allows people to experience the red planet without the six-month, 140-million-mile (225-million-kilometre) journey
 
Lead scientist Dr Kamal Datta, from Nasa’s Specialised Centre of Research at Georgetown University in Washington DC, said: ‘With the current shielding technology, it is difficult to protect astronauts from the adverse effects of heavy ion radiation.
 
‘Although there may be a way to use medicines to counter these effects, no such agent has been developed yet.
 
‘While short trips, like the times astronauts travelled to the moon, may not expose them to this level of damage, the real concern is lasting injury from a long trip such as a Mars or other deep space missions which would be much longer.’
 
Mars has become the next giant leap for mankind’s exploration of space.
 
But before humans get to the red planet, astronauts will take a series of small steps by returning to the moon for a year-long mission.
 
Details of a the mission in lunar orbit have been unveiled as part of a timeline of events leading to missions to Mars in the 2030s.
 
Nasa has outlined its four stage plan (pictured) which it hopes will one day allow humans to visit Mars at he Humans to Mars Summit held in Washington DC yesterday. This will entail multiple missions to the moon over coming decades
 
In May 2017, Greg Williams, deputy associate administrator for policy and plans at Nasa, outlined the space agency’s four stage plan that it hopes will one day allow humans to visit Mars, as well as its expected time-frame.
 
Phase one and two will involve multiple trips to lunar space, to allow for construction of a habitat which will provide a staging area for the journey.
 
The last piece of delivered hardware would be the actual Deep Space Transport vehicle that would later be used to carry a crew to Mars.
 
And a year-long simulation of life on Mars will be conducted in 2027.
 
Phase three and and four will begin after 2030 and will involve sustained crew expeditions to the Martian system and surface of Mars.

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