Since beginning its scientific operations in 2006, the orbiter has been flying at about 7,800 mph [between 155 and 196 miles above Mars' surface], while the HiRISE camera takes images of 3.5-mile-wide swaths. The camera has now taken roughly 13,000 pictures.
And although that's barely 1% of the Martian surface, a single HiRISE image will often produce a multigigabyte image measuring 20,000 pixels by 40,000 pixels. The HiRISE camera, nicknamed "the people's camera," is capable of photographing objects as small as a desk on Mars.
A standard computer can take up to three hours to process just one image
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