OrbitStudio

What is OrbitStudio?

OrbitStudio is a browser tool that turns real data from twelve worlds, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Pluto, Charon, Ceres, Vesta, Mimas, Enceladus and Tethys, into printable terrain. Spin the globe or switch to the flat map, frame a crater, a landing site or a volcano, and the generator builds the surface at the size you choose. There are 454 named landmarks to start from, such as Tycho, Olympus Mons and Maxwell Montes.

The Moon comes from LRO LOLA and Mars from MOLA altimetry at up to 463 meters per pixel. Mercury uses the USGS elevation model from MESSENGER, Venus Magellan radar altimetry (so Venus models start at 4x height), Pluto and Charon the New Horizons stereo models, covering only the side the 2015 flyby measured (about 45% of Pluto, 44% of Charon), and Vesta and Ceres the shape models NASA JPL's Dawn team made. Jupiter prints flat in Hubble's colors.

Every model comes as either a jigsaw puzzle that snaps together or a solid ornament, in a circle, square or hexagon. You can set the height exaggeration, add a wall mount or a keyhole for hanging, put a slide-on cover over the model, and preview the result in 3D before you download. Cutting a puzzle and adding a frame with your own text need a free account, which also keeps three models in a library.

Generating a model and previewing it is free and needs no account. Downloads, the STL as well as the pre-colored 3MF that opens ready to print in Bambu Studio or OrcaSlicer, can be bought one model at a time for $4.99, or with a plan: Plus at $9.99 a month or $79 a year for unlimited downloads, or Merchant at $14.99 a month or $119 a year with the right to sell prints.

What you can make

• Moon and Mars terrain puzzles
• Mercury and Venus terrain models
• Crater and landing-site ornaments
• Pluto and Charon terrain (the measured side)
• Vesta, Ceres and Saturn's moons Mimas, Enceladus and Tethys
• Jupiter in Hubble's colors
• Framed terrain with custom text
• Wall-mounted terrain tiles

How to use OrbitStudio

1. Open the generator and pick one of the twelve worlds
2. Spin the globe to a crater or landing site, or pick one of 454 landmarks
3. Choose puzzle or ornament, a circle, square or hexagon, and the size, height exaggeration and optional frame text
4. Preview in 3D, then buy that one model or use a plan or pass to download the STL or pre-colored 3MF