io9 has reported that the U.S. Geological Survey released an extremely detailed maps of Mars. The monumental effort, which took around 16 years of tenuous work, captures the true depth and beauty of the red giant. The USGS hopes the atlases will help with understanding the history of the planet as well as any future missions, enabling researchers to pick appropriate potential landing sites. Could a trip to Mars soon become a reality? Perhaps John Carter’s fate is not so far off into the future.

Original story at io9