Mars' Lowest and Highest Points Revisited

Jim Singh

We present revised values for Mars’ extreme elevations using a blended digital elevation model (DEM) that combines altimetry collected from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) on NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor with stereo imagery from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express. The widely cited minimum elevation is derived from an earlier MOLA-only DEM which lacks direct altimetry in the region of the true minimum, where interpolation omitted a pit. Using the blended DEM, we identify and measure this feature to produce a revised estimate of Mars’ lowest point. The same dataset also enables a reassessment of the position and elevation of the planet’s highest point on Olympus Mons.