Tools and Data

Jules Verne Voyager is a precision interactive map tool for the World Wide Web, developed at the UNAVCO Boulder (Colorado, USA) Facility. It was originally developed to better visualize the inter-relationships of geophysical and geologic processes, structures, and measurements, with high-precision GPS monument data and solutions on Earth. Voyager works equally well for visualizing other planets and moons.

The mapping tool is based on the functionality of Generic Mapping Tools, an open source collection of software tools for manipulating geographic datasets. Generic Mapping Tools, is developed and maintained by Paul Wessel and Walter H. F. Smith. Louis Estey of UNAVCO wrote the code for the Voyager interface and prepared datasets for display within Voyager.

Software tools that allow users to request specific data through their Web browser are called "thin clients" or "server-side applications." This arrangement gives users access to large amounts of data without having to install additional software or data on their own computers.

Data available through Voyager has been obtained from:

ARC Science Simulations (Earth)

NASA's Visible Earth (Earth)

NASA's SeaWiFS Project (Earth)

Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, Planetary Data System (PDS) Geosciences Node (Earth, Moon, Mars, Venus, asteroids)

Scientific Visualization Studio/Goddard Space Flight Center (Mars)

JPL's Mars Global Surveyor page (Mars)