Planet Four

Studying Mars with the help of Citizen Science

mars
citizen science
Authors

Michael Aye

Ganna Portyankina

Candice Hansen

Meg Schwamb

Tim Michaels

Chris Lintott

et al.

Published

September 7, 2021

The Red Planet is a unique and dynamic world. Through the power of the Internet and its volunteers, we can explore the surface, climate, and history of Mars with our suite of the Planet Four projects.

It is difficult if not impossible for computer algorithms to accurately map individual polar seasonal fans, spot araneiform (‘spider’) erosion, and identify polygonal ridges. Computers just aren’t good enough to do the job yet, but these features visible from orbit are easily spotted by the human eye. Volunteers from around the world have contributed to the Planet Four projects by mapping the seasonal fans, polygonal ridges, and araneiforms in Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter imagery.

With the help of volunteers, we are discovering new insights into the processes active in the past and present on the Red Planet.

Join us at https://planetfour.space .

Link to project

Link to data catalog

PDF link

Video link