Gale Crater, Mars

thingiverse

A model of Gale Crater, where Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity roams, is replicated at a 1:1925000 scale. The Rover would measure around two microns or the length of an E. coli cell. Though models by neurothing and Doomcow exist on Thingiverse, their heightmap data might not be simple elevation information. Moreover, their mesh simplification led to a model without a flat base. While appreciating their idea, a fresh attempt was made using MOLA Topography survey data from Mars Global Surveyor via MAPA Planet and Vincent Sanders' png23d tool. Further, MeshLab software was employed to reduce face count from 779300 to 10000 while preserving mesh boundaries and topography. The model is printable with Cura, and two versions have been printed so far, one of which was gifted to Dawn Sumner, a UC Davis professor involved in MSL camera team and Gale Crater's selection as landing site. She posted about the print on Twitter.