This began as two 6.5 million vertex stl files generated from data posted on the Planetary Data System. They were positioned and lit, a snapshot taken, and the images were used as texture image files on low-res (250,000 vertex) armatures the camera flew over. The first part thecamera flies a path, the second the camera position is keyframed.
Very nice surface, however you should put an image in the thread so it shows up in the finished section.