However, in terms of global color images, the best version of Mars Viking Colorized Global Mosaic has a resolution of approximately 232 m/pixel. There is a lack of global color images of Mars at the hundred-meter scale and higher resolution.

New data obtained by the Tianwen-1 mission has laid the foundation for the development of a high-resolution global color-image map of Mars with high positioning accuracy. As of July 25, 2022, Tianwen-1 Moderate Resolution Imaging Camera (MoRIC) had completed imaging over 284 orbits during its remote-sensing mission period, acquiring 14,757 images with spatial resolutions between 57 and 197 m.

The collected images achieved global coverage of the Martian surface. At almost the same time, a total of 325 strips of data in the visible and near-infrared bands were obtained by the Tianwen-1 Mars Mineralogical Spectrometer, with spatial resolutions varying from 265–800 m.

Using the above-mentioned data, Professor Li Chunlai at National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Zhang Rongqiao at Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center led the Tianwen-1 science team and collaborators to conduct research on image data processing and global mapping of Mars. The research is published in the journal Science Bulletin.