Don Davis’ Mariner Mars globe (Hellas side)

Don Davis’ Mariner Mars globe (Hellas side)
Don Davis’ Mariner Mars globe (Hellas side) Don Davis produced this oil-painted globe of Mars in 1971 based upon Mariner 4, 5, and 6 data. The Southern polar cap is at top with its partial closeup photo coverage. Another strip of photos at right gave the first glimpse of the mountains at the rim of the giant Hellas impact basin. At far left is Gale crater's distinctive dark crescent-filled interior and the lengthy dark streak connecting it with the dark southern regions, an excellent-resolution target for Earth based telescopic images. At the bottom is the dark wedge of Syrtis Major, the most prominent dark area on the planet. Don Davis
Don Davis’ Mariner Mars globe (Solis Lacus side)
Don Davis’ Mariner Mars globe (Solis Lacus side) The dark region in the center is known to Earthly observers as Solis Lacus, Lake Of the Sun. Above it is the east-west dark marking that turned out later to be the dark dune-covered floor of a giant canyon complex, Valles Marineris. The polar cap can be seen to be partially covered by closeup photography, which also just begins to reveal the Argyre impact basin. On the original globe, hints of the Tharsis volcanoes can be, in retrospect, partially traced out among the albedo markings.Image: Don Davis