Project goal - Produce a virtual fly-in and landing on Mars to be part of an eventual modular Solar System Series for live dome shows at the LodeStar Astronomy Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

This project will involve creating a model of Mars and its moon system with correct astronomical measurements as well as a virtual Mars environment simulating a ride on the Mars Rover. This will require using Maya to create the models, and Photoshop to create texture maps. Students will also research to find correct measurements, and NASA photos of the Mars surface for correct coloration, texture etc.

Mars Class I rendering. View of Mars from behind Phobos moon.

The project will be divided into three classes:

Mars Class I: March 27 - April 26, 2003, Thursdays 6:00-8:30pm, Saturdays 2:30-5:00pm
              The first class will have students animating the Mars / Deimos / Phobos system with accurate astronomical data.
Mars Class II: June 5 - July 17, 2003, Thursdays 9:00am-2:00pm
              The second class will animate a surface landing on Mars.
Mars Class III: Fall 2003
              The third session will work with the Mars Rover data, presenting the information being returned.

Left: Mars Animation mentor, Aaron Romero assists Digital Pueblo Project student assistant, Alex Kolberg with animating the surface of
Mars, July 2003.

Models of the planet Mars rendered in the Maya animation program. Left: Full planet view. Right: closeup of planet's surface.

Dome master of the planet mars in its place in the Solar System. This is towards the opening of the animation.

Left: Dome master of martian landscape animated in Maya™. This circular image is sliced and projected across a dome screen. Right: View of Martian sunset that you would see on the bottom, center of the domed screen.