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A close-up view of Mars (photos)

Microsoft and NASA have teamed up to add more Mars imagery to the Worldwide Telescope project.

Ina Fried
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley.
Ina Fried
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1 of 7Microsoft

Mission to Mars

A view of Mars as seen through Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope software.

Microsoft has made a number of improvements to its Worldwide Telescope project, including partnering with NASA to offer much better imagery of the planet Mars. The addition of Mars imagery is one of several changes to the telescope that Microsoft is showing off Monday at its annual Faculty Summit meeting with outside researchers.

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2 of 7Courtesy of Microsoft/NASA

Peaks and Valles

View of Valles Marineris, using wide-angle imagery from NASA's Viking orbiters and the Mars Orbiter Camera.
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3 of 7Courtesy of Microsoft/NASA

Swiss cheese

Surface details of Mars showing the planet's Swiss cheese-like circular depressions.
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4 of 7Courtesy of Microsoft/NASA
Tracks of the Mars rover Opportunity are visible just north of the red planet's Victoria Crater.
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5 of 7Courtesy of Microsoft/NASA

Telescope improvements

This image shows the full sky view in the old version (left) and improved version (right).
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6 of 7Courtesy of Microsoft/NASA

The old version

A close-up of the old version of the Worldwide Telescope image clearly shows the seams between images.
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7 of 7Courtesy of Microsoft/NASA

The new version

Here, in the new version, seams between images are much less visible.

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