Overview
Your mission at a glance. Follow the steps below from left to right — each one opens the section that does it.
Route analysis
New area: downloading real NASA MOLA elevations for it, then planning routes (first time only, usually 5–60 s)…
Mission
Can the crew reach the target, do the science, and return?
Plan a Mars surface excursion with real NASA MOLA elevations, see why alternatives differ, stress it with failures, and get a revised mission when the plan breaks. Every number is traceable; nothing is certified.
- Base
- 18.380°N 77.580°E
- Target
- 18.600°N 77.200°E
- Great-circle
- 25.0 km one way
- Crew / speed
- 2 · 4.5 km/h
- Science time
- 1.5 h + 1 stop(s)
- Slope limit
- 15° (scenario)
- Reserve / contingency
- 20% / 15%
Readiness summary
Available once routes are planned for the current base and target.
The decision story
Loading the demo story…
Challenge: Interplanetary Survival Guide: Martian Map (NASA Space Apps 2026). RedReturn layers topographic (MOLA numeric), optical (Viking), thermal (THEMIS/TES) and radiation (published surface dose, as a model parameter) context for a route a crew could plan. Prototype