One Day Build: Gale Crater Topographic Model

This project was inspired by a kick starter project I found where backers were funding large scale models of the moon (500 mm dia.). The models (which were castings of a high quality 3D print) looked stunning, especially when lit. Poking around out of curiosity, I found NASA has a substantial collection of 3D resources available here including 3D models of spacecraft, satellites, asteroids, comets, and Lunar and Martian surfaces.

I decided to carve a small model of Gale Crater, the current location of the Mars Science Laboratory. The model from NASA had a 3x vertical exaggeration, which I reduced to 2x. Made out of a scrap of PVC, the model is around 200x150 mm. It ran on a machining center overnight and took an estimated 16 hours. It was supposed to run faster, but motors on this machine are very low torque, so the feed rate is dynamically throttled to ensure the axes won't overshoot. All mesh editing and programming I did in Fusion360 and it ran on a Trak 2 Op.

As a result of mesh reducing, the model has a beautiful, faceted effect