Cartography: Its Role and Interdisciplinary Character in Planetary Science

Cartography is the science, technique, and art of filtering and compiling spatial data into map information and to communicate complex spatial relationships and interdependences by advanced visualization techniques. In this context, Cartography provides the whole environment and necessary analysis toolsets to derive mapping results and produce maps. This chapter gives a description about what planetary cartography is about and how planetary cartographic products are produced, the process from data, via information, to knowledge and understanding, and also discussing the recent technical and conceptual transition from hardcopy end products to interactive, dynamic digital databases.