Flying over the North Pole of Mars

If you could fly over the North Pole of Mars, what would you see?  Images from ESA’s Mars Express mission in 2019 were compiled into the featured video which shows just such a trip. First you see below you a landscape tinted orange by rusted iron in the fine soil, with some land appearing darker due to exposed rock. Soon the northern polar cap comes into view, mostly white because of its reflective frozen water. Surrounding the polar cap is the North Polar Basin, a layered depression covered with dust and sand. The frames in the featured video were captured during northern Martian Spring when the carbon-dioxide ice is evaporating, leaving the underlying water-ice in the cap. Mars Express continues to study the Martian surface and look for clues about the Red Planet's ancient climate and potential for life.


2026-03-03

Landsat imagery is provided to the public as a joint project between NASA and USGS. A recent industry report on landsat satellite imagery data estimates that total annual value to the economy of $2.19 billion, far exceeding the multi-year total cost of building, launching, and managing Landsat satellites and sensors. The value is derived from consumer use of the data. The objective of this endpoint is to give you an easy to use taste of what Landsat imagery data can provide. There are more complicate APIs available if you want to build models on top of satellite imagery, apply machine-learning, or minimize clouds in your image.


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satellite shot of Houston Tx

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