Back to album

Viking 1 on Mars

Description: (July 23, 1976) Sand dunes and large rocks are revealed in this panoramic image of Mars taken by Viking 1's Camera 1.

 

The horizon is approximately 3 kilometers (2 miles) away. The late afternoon sun is high in the sky over the left side of the picture. The support struts of the S-band high-gain antenna extends to the top of the picture. The American flags are located on the two RTG (Radioisotope Thermoeletric Generator) wind screens.

 

In the middle third of the picture the rocky surface is covered by thick deposits of wind-blown material, forming numerous dunes. At the center of the picture on the horizon are two low hills which may be part of the rim of the distant crater. Two very large rocks are visible in the middle ground; the nearer one is 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter and is 8 meters (25 feets) from the spacecraft. A cloud layer is visible halfway between the horizon and the top of the picture. The meterology boom is located right of center. Behind it, the "White Mesa" is visible.

 

In the nearer ground are numerous rocks about 10 cm (4 inches) across, with horse-shoe shaped scour marks on their upwind side and wind tails in their lee. The fine grained material in the front of them contains small pits formed by impact of material kicked out by the lander's descent rocket engines.

 

NASA Media Usage Guidelines

 

Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS

Image Number: PIA00391

Date: July 23, 1976

82,980 views
48 faves
0 comments
Uploaded on July 23, 2023
Taken on July 23, 1976