New book from Aperture turns a telescopic lens on Mars

Is there life on mars? Well, if This is Mars, a new publication from Aperture is anything to go by – the jury’s still out. The book turns a HiROSE telescopic lens on the mysterious red planet via panoramic images captured by U.S Observation satellite known as Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter or MRO.

For the past 11 years, MRO has been photographically tracking Mars’ surface in high definition, illuminating the depths of the Velles Marineris canyons, the black dunes of Noachis Terra and the Olympus Mons volcano – our solar system’s highest peak. This Is Mars boasts a striking selection of 150 monochromatic abstract images which bridge art and science compiled by French publisher, designer, and editor Xavier Barral, an introduction by research scientist Alfred S. McEwen, an essay by astrophysicist Francis Rocard and a timeline of the red planet by geophysicist Nicolas Mangold.