Magellan Mission to Venus
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Mission SummaryThe Magellan spacecraft, named after the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer whose expedition first circumnavigated the Earth, was launched May 4, 1989, and arrived at Venus on August 10, 1990. Magellan's solid rocket motor placed it into a near-polar elliptical orbit around the planet. During the first 8-month mapping cycle around Venus, Magellan collected radar images of 84 percent of the planet's surface, with resolution 10 times better than that of the earlier Soviet Venera 15 and 16 missions. Altimetry and radiometry data also measured the surface topography and electrical characteristics.During the extended mission, two further mapping cycles from May 15, 1991 to September 14, 1992 brought mapping coverage to 98% of the planet, with a resolution of approximately 100m. For more information on this mission click here.
Adivar Crater The Data The data found on this web site consists of Full Resolution SAR Maps (FMAP) of the surface of Venus. The FMAP is the unique, full-resolution mosaicked Magellan Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) dataset. There are a total of 340 FMAPs covering approximately 92% of the planet's surface. Each FMAP is identified by latitude and longitude at its center point and is divided into a quadrangle of 36 images arranged in six rows and six columns, each identified by latitude and longitude at the center of the image. A sample quadrangle is shown in the image above. Images for 10 of the FMAPS are currently available online, access to the rest can be made available online, or in person at the Getchell Library Each image is approximately 7.5MB, therefore a high speed connection is recommended for downloading images For instructions on how to view and mosaic the images click here.
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Updated: 9 Nov 2004 |
