LAYER PROVENANCE4 / 8 ON
Satellite imagery
CTX orbital imagery with a HiRISE rover-site mosaic where coverage is available. Tile gaps remain transparent.
NASA Mars Trek WMTS ↗◈ SURFACE OPERATIONS GLOBAL MARS / LANDING SITE NOT SELECTED
Navigate Mars
with evidence.
Choose a landing site anywhere on Mars, inspect ARES destination candidates within 5 km, and compare a traverse with the available terrain and environment evidence.
PROVISIONAL · HUMAN REVIEW REQUIREDMISSION AUTHORITY STAYS WITH THE CREW
01 MAP AREA WHOLE MARS
02 SELECTED DESTINATION AWAITING ARES SCREENING
03 ROUTE ENGINE EXPLAINABLE A* RANKING
MISSION OVERVIEWSCHEMATIC · NOT TO SCALE
NO SITE SELECTED
AB
MARS · SCHEMATIC
GLOBAL DATANO DESTINATION
◌DESTINATION ENVIRONMENTAwaiting conditionsNASA destination model · Gale station reported separately
⌁RELATIVE ROUTE PICKEvaluating route— km · relative model
PATH LOGIC01 / 02ROUTE CANDIDATES
SURFACE MODEL / NO MODEL LOCATIONMISSION BRIEF 01
MISSION SYSTEMSEvidence before movement.
MAXMARS / ARES SURFACE PLANNING PROTOTYPERoute ranking is provisional. No path is certified safe.
02 / LOCATION & TERRAIN GPS-STYLE MARS MAP
Choose a landing site anywhere on Mars.
Start with the full planet. Tap the map or enter coordinates; ARES screens nearby destination candidates within 5 km.
NASA MARS TREK / WMTS
Whole Mars map · tap anywhere to choose a landing site. Drag to pan; use +/- or the scroll wheel to zoom.
Loading Mars Trek tiles…
Global view
N↑
—
GLOBAL MARSTAP ANYWHERE TO BEGIN
WHOLE PLANET VIEWVIKING GLOBAL MOSAIC · NORTH UP
LANDING SITEARES DESTINATION5 KM SCREENSHORTESTENVIRONMENT-WEIGHTEDMARKED EXCLUSION
NASA Mars Trek · Viking global / Gale CTX + HiRISE where covered · north up
MAP LAYERS4 / 8 ON⌄
TRAVERSE CONTEXTChoose visible layers
8 SOURCES
03 / DESTINATION NEIGHBORHOOD 5 KM EVIDENCE RING
Review destinations around your landing site.
The astronaut’s landing point anchors eight candidate destinations. ARES ranks the available evidence; choose any unblocked candidate to open its route review.
ASTRONAUT LANDING SITE · ARES DESTINATION SCREEN
B
Select a landing point on page 2
No coordinates selected
Location reference: awaiting astronaut-selected landing point. Open source ↗
◎
DESTINATION ANALYSIS RADIUS5.0 kmLoading local samples…
The astronaut selects the landing site. ARES scores possible destinations inside the 5 km radius using available terrain texture, model wind/dust, path distance and marked exclusions.
Choose a landing site on the whole-Mars map.
ARES DESTINATION CANDIDATES · REVIEW EACH OPTIONChoose a candidate for route review
8 SAMPLED OPTIONSHow the provisional rank works: one map-grid sample is selected from each compass sector inside the 5 km circle. ARES compares available MOLA image texture, directional wind exposure, regional dust context, distance, and operator-marked exclusions. Missing evidence is not proof of safety; local obstacles are not automatically detected.
WIND · TEMPERATURE · PRESSURENASA regional model fields loading
Nearby candidate points can share one coarse NASA model cell. Values describe regional context and cannot resolve local weather differences across this 5 km circle.
OBSTACLESNo manual exclusions marked
Operator-marked circles block candidate points they overlap and are hard exclusions in A*. Orbital imagery does not automatically detect obstacles.
DISTANCE · TERRAINMeasured from the selected origin
Range uses Mars-sphere great-circle distance. Terrain is a relative MOLA image-texture proxy, not numeric elevation, slope, or a validated hazard map.
MINERAL / GEOLOGY CONTEXTScience context, not a danger sensor
USGS geology and TES mineral layers are regional/coarse overlays. They do not establish a local mineral detection or rank 5 km sites for safety.
Decision boundary: ARES can identify marked exclusions and compare relative map-texture and distance inputs. It has no mission-approved crew thresholds, local weather forecast, or complete obstacle inventory; every candidate remains HOLD FOR HUMAN REVIEW.
04 / ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OBSERVATIONS + DESTINATION MODEL
Check conditions at the destination.
ARES refreshes the NASA model fields whenever the destination pointer moves.
GALE CRATER / CURIOSITY REMS
Latest surface report
AIR TEMPERATURE—awaiting source
PRESSURE—awaiting source
SURFACE WINDNot in reportuse model input below
DUST OPACITYNot in reportuse model scenario below
Gale measurements describe the rover station, not every point on a traverse. Downlink timing and missing fields can limit freshness.
NASA GODDARD MARS EXPLORER
Destination model fields
Selected destination · loading
MODEL WINDLoadingWind vector retrieval
DUST OPTICAL DEPTHLoadingColumn opacity · tau
SURFACE PRESSURELoadingModel atmosphere
MODEL AIR TEMPERATURELoadingAtmospheric model field
SURFACE TEMPERATURELoadingModel atmosphere
Requesting NASA fields…Grid details pending
Route inputs · editable by mission team
Waiting for destination model vector
The NASA grid returns 36 × 60 global model fields (about 300 km per cell near Gale), so it cannot resolve a kilometer-scale traverse or identify a passing dust front. The default Mars Explorer page describes its model as EMARS MY32 moderate-dust climatology and says the app is for testing. Its grid response has no forecast-valid timestamp. Dust opacity is displayed as τ; ARES does not label it an active storm or use a NASA safety threshold.
05 / SCIENCE TARGET EXPLORER GEOLOGY EVIDENCE + LIMITS
Follow the water-shaped rock record.
Use the Pahrump Hills evidence as a geological objective; keep broad orbital context separate from a local mineral claim.
ACTIVE DESTINATION POINTER
A
ARES DESTINATION CANDIDATE
Select a destination candidate
—GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION QUESTIONHow do lower Mount Sharp sedimentary layers record past water and environmental change?
ARES surfaces published site context for mission review. It does not identify a fresh outcrop or infer a mineral detection from the global TES layer.
Evidence anchor: Pahrump Hills. Site evidence below remains tied to its cited location.
Water-related sedimentary context
NASA describes sedimentary rocks at Pahrump Hills as rocks scientists believe formed in the presence of water.
NASA · Curiosity at Pahrump Hills ↗HiRISE scene context
The ESP_039280_1755 product centers on the Pahrump Hills area. Its image supports visual terrain inspection; it does not certify traversability.
HiRISE product · ESP_039280_1755 ↗Global units, coarse scale
USGS SIM 3292 maps Mars at 1:20,000,000. ARES shows the tile for regional orientation only; local contacts require finer mapping.
USGS · Geologic Map of Mars ↗TES spectral context
Sheet-silicate / high-silica-glass context is very coarse and can be confused with dust. It is not a Pahrump mineral identification.
NASA Mars Trek · TES metadata ↗Curiosity’s proposed Mount Sharp path
NASA’s rover route is a science-planning precedent built from orbital observations. It is not plotted as ARES’s route and makes no human-safety claim.
NASA · Curiosity route proposal ↗EVIDENCE RULEPublished site evidence stays attached to its source coordinates · global maps provide context · mission team verifies targets in the field
06 / ROUTE INTELLIGENCE EXPLAINABLE A* COMPARISON
Review the route to your destination.
You choose the landing site; ARES ranks a nearby destination within 5 km. Compare the shortest and environment-weighted paths, checkpoints and data behind the provisional ranking.
ARES RECOMMENDS · RELATIVE RANKING
B
RISK-WEIGHTED PATH
Evaluating available conditions…
EST. DISTANCE—
RELATIVE SCORE—
WIND EXPOSURE—
The route is a model ranking only. Waiting for map and condition inputs.
HOLD FOR OPERATIONAL REVIEW
A
BASELINE
REFERENCEShortest path
Distance—Terrain texture—Wind exposure—Composite score—
B
OPTIMIZED
SCORING…Environment-weighted path
Distance—Terrain texture—Wind exposure—Composite score—
FLOWCHART INPUTS · HOW ARES USES THEM
Distance—Path length contributes to base route cost.
Wind—Model/entered vector adds relative headwind and crosswind cost.
Pressure—Regional model value; status gate only, no crew threshold supplied.
Temperature—Air/surface context; status gate only, no validated EVA limit supplied.
Obstacles—Manual exclusion circles are hard blocks in the A* grid.
Minerals—Coarse TES context informs science review; not a local route hazard score.
Terrain texture—MOLA image texture proxy contributes a relative cost, not measured slope.
Dust opacity—Modeled τ contributes a bounded relative cost; it is not a storm alert.
Pressure, temperature, and mineral data are surfaced in the decision record. They are not converted into unsupported local safety thresholds or mineral detections.
WHY THIS ROUTE RANKS FIRST
Waiting for destination selection
Choose a start and destination on page 2 to compare the two route candidates.
DESTINATION + PATH CONDITIONS
SELECTED DESTINATION
ALONG THE CHOSEN PATH
NASA global atmosphere grid samples are coarse regional context, not a local weather forecast. Mineral and obstacle coverage is incomplete.
MODELA* on a local Mars grid · real MOLA tile texture proxy · entered wind vector · selected MCD dust scenario · user-marked hard exclusions
07 / CONTINGENCY PLAYBOOK SIMULATION
When conditions change, pause and replan.
ARES demonstrates the response logic while keeping mission control and crew limits authoritative.
NEW OBSERVATION
↓Wind, dust, or an obstacle changes.
Enter a current model or station value, or mark a newly observed exclusion area on the map.
MODEL RECHECK
↓ARES recalculates both paths.
A* treats marked obstacle circles as hard blocks; wind and dust inputs change the relative route cost.
HUMAN DECISION
Mission control reviews the hold gate.
Confirm live conditions, life-support margins, suit/EVA rules, communications and crew status outside this prototype.