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Mars Odyssey: Mars' Northern …
Title Mars Odyssey: Mars' Northern Hemisphere
Abstract NASA's Mars Odyssey detected water ice in the northern hemisphere. During the winter months, the icy soil is covered by a thick layer of carbon dioxide ('dry ice') frost obscuring the water ice signature.This animation is match-framed to #2779 and #2780. Its purpose is to establish a frame of reference using a true color dataset. In this case, that data is from Viking.
Completed 2003-06-25
Viking 2's 30th!
PIA08723
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Viking 2's 30th!
Original Caption Released with Image 3 September 2006 Viking 2 landed 30 years ago today, on 3 September 1976. It was the second of the two Viking landings on Mars. Viking 1 touched down on 20 July 1976. Since the Viking missions of the 1970s, only 3 additional spacecraft have successfully landed and conducted their scientific investigations: Mars Pathfinder (1997), Mars Exploration Rover Spirit (2004-present), and Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity (2004-present). Two new U.S. Mars landed missions are currently in the works: Phoenix, launching in August 2007, and MSL (Mars Science Laboratory), launching in 2009. As with the 30th anniversary of the Viking 1 landing in July (see PIA08616 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08616 ]), for the Viking 2 30th anniversary, we show here the best Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) view of the landing site. On that day 30 years ago, Viking 2 landed in Utopia Planitia, west of Mie Crater, near 48.0°N, 225.7°W. At the time, it was considered that this might be a good place to look for evidence of life in the martian regolith. This middle north latitude site is often obscured by clouds in the winter and dust hazes in the spring. The surface was observed by the lander to be dusted by thin coatings of frost during the winter months. The exact location of the Viking 2 lander was uncertain until MOC obtained the high resolution view, shown above, in 2004. These images were previously released by the MOC team on 5 May 2005, along with what was then considered to be the best candidate for the Mars Polar Lander site (see "MGS Finds Viking 2 Lander and Mars Polar Lander (Maybe)" [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/05/ ]). The candidate Polar Lander site was further imaged in 2005 and found not to be the lander (see PIA03044 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03044 ]). Figure 1 shows (A) a mosaic of Viking Orbiter images obtained in the 1970s at a resolution of 75 m/pixel, (B) a typical MGS MOC narrow angle camera view at about 3 meters/pixel (25x higher resolution than the Viking images), and (C, D) sections of a MOC image obtained at ~0.5 m/pixel. Figure 2 shows an extreme enlargement of the feature identified as Viking Lander 2, compared to a schematic drawing of the lander in the orientation determined during the Viking mission.
Viking 2's 30th!
PIA08723
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Viking 2's 30th!
Original Caption Released with Image 3 September 2006 Viking 2 landed 30 years ago today, on 3 September 1976. It was the second of the two Viking landings on Mars. Viking 1 touched down on 20 July 1976. Since the Viking missions of the 1970s, only 3 additional spacecraft have successfully landed and conducted their scientific investigations: Mars Pathfinder (1997), Mars Exploration Rover Spirit (2004-present), and Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity (2004-present). Two new U.S. Mars landed missions are currently in the works: Phoenix, launching in August 2007, and MSL (Mars Science Laboratory), launching in 2009. As with the 30th anniversary of the Viking 1 landing in July (see PIA08616 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08616 ]), for the Viking 2 30th anniversary, we show here the best Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) view of the landing site. On that day 30 years ago, Viking 2 landed in Utopia Planitia, west of Mie Crater, near 48.0°N, 225.7°W. At the time, it was considered that this might be a good place to look for evidence of life in the martian regolith. This middle north latitude site is often obscured by clouds in the winter and dust hazes in the spring. The surface was observed by the lander to be dusted by thin coatings of frost during the winter months. The exact location of the Viking 2 lander was uncertain until MOC obtained the high resolution view, shown above, in 2004. These images were previously released by the MOC team on 5 May 2005, along with what was then considered to be the best candidate for the Mars Polar Lander site (see "MGS Finds Viking 2 Lander and Mars Polar Lander (Maybe)" [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/05/ ]). The candidate Polar Lander site was further imaged in 2005 and found not to be the lander (see PIA03044 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03044 ]). Figure 1 shows (A) a mosaic of Viking Orbiter images obtained in the 1970s at a resolution of 75 m/pixel, (B) a typical MGS MOC narrow angle camera view at about 3 meters/pixel (25x higher resolution than the Viking images), and (C, D) sections of a MOC image obtained at ~0.5 m/pixel. Figure 2 shows an extreme enlargement of the feature identified as Viking Lander 2, compared to a schematic drawing of the lander in the orientation determined during the Viking mission.
Viking 2's 30th!
PIA08723
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Viking 2's 30th!
Original Caption Released with Image 3 September 2006 Viking 2 landed 30 years ago today, on 3 September 1976. It was the second of the two Viking landings on Mars. Viking 1 touched down on 20 July 1976. Since the Viking missions of the 1970s, only 3 additional spacecraft have successfully landed and conducted their scientific investigations: Mars Pathfinder (1997), Mars Exploration Rover Spirit (2004-present), and Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity (2004-present). Two new U.S. Mars landed missions are currently in the works: Phoenix, launching in August 2007, and MSL (Mars Science Laboratory), launching in 2009. As with the 30th anniversary of the Viking 1 landing in July (see PIA08616 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08616 ]), for the Viking 2 30th anniversary, we show here the best Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) view of the landing site. On that day 30 years ago, Viking 2 landed in Utopia Planitia, west of Mie Crater, near 48.0°N, 225.7°W. At the time, it was considered that this might be a good place to look for evidence of life in the martian regolith. This middle north latitude site is often obscured by clouds in the winter and dust hazes in the spring. The surface was observed by the lander to be dusted by thin coatings of frost during the winter months. The exact location of the Viking 2 lander was uncertain until MOC obtained the high resolution view, shown above, in 2004. These images were previously released by the MOC team on 5 May 2005, along with what was then considered to be the best candidate for the Mars Polar Lander site (see "MGS Finds Viking 2 Lander and Mars Polar Lander (Maybe)" [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/05/ ]). The candidate Polar Lander site was further imaged in 2005 and found not to be the lander (see PIA03044 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03044 ]). Figure 1 shows (A) a mosaic of Viking Orbiter images obtained in the 1970s at a resolution of 75 m/pixel, (B) a typical MGS MOC narrow angle camera view at about 3 meters/pixel (25x higher resolution than the Viking images), and (C, D) sections of a MOC image obtained at ~0.5 m/pixel. Figure 2 shows an extreme enlargement of the feature identified as Viking Lander 2, compared to a schematic drawing of the lander in the orientation determined during the Viking mission.
Viking Texture Zoom Down to …
Title Viking Texture Zoom Down to Gravity Map Revealing Hidden Channel
Completed 2000-06-19
Viking Texture Zoom Down (sl …
Title Viking Texture Zoom Down (slow)
Completed 2000-06-19
Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neut …
Title Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neutron Data overlayed on MGS/MOLA Topography Data (Full Globe, Viking True Color)
Abstract Mars Odyssey's Gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) instrument has detected large amounts of Hydrogen on Mars, particularly near the south pole. This is an indication that water ice exists in the upper meter of these areas of the Martian surface. The epithermal neutron data ranges from 0 to about 12 counts per second. The blue areas indicate high concentrations of Hydrogen (low epithermal neutron counts). A series of animations was generated to support a Space Science Update (SSU) on the topic. These animations were match-rendered with unsmoothed, smoothed, and Viking true-color data.
Completed 2002-05-28
Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neut …
Title Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neutron Data overlayed on MGS/MOLA Topography Data (Flyover, Viking True Color)
Abstract Mars Odyssey's Gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) instrument has detected large amounts of Hydrogen on Mars, particularly near the south pole. This is an indication that water ice exists in the upper meter of these areas of the Martian surface. The epithermal neutron data ranges from 0 to about 12 counts per second. The blue areas indicate high concentrations of Hydrogen (low epithermal neutron counts). A series of animations was generated to support a Space Science Update (SSU) on the topic. These animations were match-rendered with unsmoothed, smoothed, and Viking true-color data.
Completed 2002-05-28
Polar Orbiter: Fly Up to 4 P …
Title Polar Orbiter: Fly Up to 4 Possible Landing Sites (Yellow)
Completed 1999-08-25
Mars Rotate (True Color)
Title Mars Rotate (True Color)
Completed 1999-05-24
Mars North Pole flyover
Title Mars North Pole flyover
Abstract MOLA takes elevation data of Mars North Pole combined with Viking colormap.
Completed 2000-03-15
Valles Marineris Flyover (sh …
Title Valles Marineris Flyover (short version)
Abstract This view of Valles Marineris was constructed by combining the Viking color texture with MOLA altimetry data. There is no vertical exaggeration applied to the surface displacement.
Completed 2000-03-09
Olympus Mons Flyover.
Title Olympus Mons Flyover.
Abstract This view of Olympus Mons was constructed by combining the Viking color texture with MOLA altimetry data. There is no vertical exaggeration applied to the surface displacement.
Completed 2000-03-09
Valles Marineris: The Grand …
Title Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars
Explanation The largest canyon in the Solar System [ http://www.nineplanets.org/overview.html ] cuts a wide swath across the face of Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ]. Named Valles Marineris [ http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/VallesMarineris/ ], the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon [ http://www.aqd.nps.gov/grd/parks/grca/ ] in Arizona, USA is 800 kilometers long, 30 kilometers across, and 1.8 kilometers deep. The origin of the Valles Marineris [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mep/science/vm.html ] remains unknown, although a leading hypothesis holds that it started as a crack [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980310.html ] billions of years ago as the planet cooled [ http://helio.estec.esa.nl/intermarsnet/redreport/node20.html ]. Recently [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020531.html ], several geologic processes have been identified in the canyon [ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?link=/mars/interior/Valles_Marineris.html&sw=false&sn=4444&d=/mars/interior&edu=mid&br=graphic&back=/mars/exploring/MGS_altimeter_OMons.html&cd=false&tour=&fr=f ]. The above mosaic [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-mars.html ] was created [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/caption/marsglobe1.txt ] from over 100 images of Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/mars.html ] taken by Viking [ http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome/viking.htm ] Orbiters in the 1970s.
Mars Cutaway
Title Mars Cutaway
Abstract Mars Globe showing a cutaway revealing the MOHO data.
Completed 2000-03-01
Valles Marineris: The Grand …
Title Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars
Explanation The largest canyon in the Solar System [ http://www.nineplanets.org/overview.html ] cuts a wide swath across the face of Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ]. Named Valles Marineris [ http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/VallesMarineris/ ], the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon ] in Arizona, USA is 800 kilometers long, 30 kilometers across, and 1.8 kilometers deep. The origin of the Valles Marineris [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valles_Marineris ] remains unknown, although a leading hypothesis holds that it started as a crack [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980310.html ] billions of years ago as the planet cooled [ http://helio.estec.esa.nl/intermarsnet/redreport/node20.html ]. Recently [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020531.html ], several geologic processes have been identified in the canyon [ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?link=/mars/interior/Valles_Marineris.html&sw=false&sn=4444&d=/mars/interior&edu=mid&br=graphic&back=/mars/exploring/MGS_altimeter_OMons.html&cd=false&tour=&fr=f ]. The above mosaic [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-mars.html ] was created [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/caption/marsglobe1.txt ] from over 100 images of Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/mars.html ] taken by Viking [ http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome/viking.htm ] Orbiters in the 1970s.
Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neut …
Title Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neutron Data overlayed on MGS/MOLA Topography Data (Full Globe, Viking True Color)
Abstract Mars Odyssey's Gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) instrument has detected large amounts of Hydrogen on Mars, particularly near the south pole. This is an indication that water ice exists in the upper meter of these areas of the Martian surface. The epithermal neutron data ranges from 0 to about 12 counts per second. The blue areas indicate high concentrations of Hydrogen (low epithermal neutron counts). A series of animations was generated to support a Space Science Update (SSU) on the topic. These animations were match-rendered with unsmoothed, smoothed, and Viking true-color data.
Completed 2002-05-28
Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neut …
Title Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neutron Data overlayed on MGS/MOLA Topography Data (Full Globe, Viking True Color)
Abstract Mars Odyssey's Gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) instrument has detected large amounts of Hydrogen on Mars, particularly near the south pole. This is an indication that water ice exists in the upper meter of these areas of the Martian surface. The epithermal neutron data ranges from 0 to about 12 counts per second. The blue areas indicate high concentrations of Hydrogen (low epithermal neutron counts). A series of animations was generated to support a Space Science Update (SSU) on the topic. These animations were match-rendered with unsmoothed, smoothed, and Viking true-color data.
Completed 2002-05-28
Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neut …
Title Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neutron Data overlayed on MGS/MOLA Topography Data (Full Globe, Viking True Color)
Abstract Mars Odyssey's Gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) instrument has detected large amounts of Hydrogen on Mars, particularly near the south pole. This is an indication that water ice exists in the upper meter of these areas of the Martian surface. The epithermal neutron data ranges from 0 to about 12 counts per second. The blue areas indicate high concentrations of Hydrogen (low epithermal neutron counts). A series of animations was generated to support a Space Science Update (SSU) on the topic. These animations were match-rendered with unsmoothed, smoothed, and Viking true-color data.
Completed 2002-05-28
Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neut …
Title Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neutron Data overlayed on MGS/MOLA Topography Data (Flyover, Viking True Color)
Abstract Mars Odyssey's Gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) instrument has detected large amounts of Hydrogen on Mars, particularly near the south pole. This is an indication that water ice exists in the upper meter of these areas of the Martian surface. The epithermal neutron data ranges from 0 to about 12 counts per second. The blue areas indicate high concentrations of Hydrogen (low epithermal neutron counts). A series of animations was generated to support a Space Science Update (SSU) on the topic. These animations were match-rendered with unsmoothed, smoothed, and Viking true-color data.
Completed 2002-05-28
Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neut …
Title Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neutron Data overlayed on MGS/MOLA Topography Data (Flyover, Viking True Color)
Abstract Mars Odyssey's Gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) instrument has detected large amounts of Hydrogen on Mars, particularly near the south pole. This is an indication that water ice exists in the upper meter of these areas of the Martian surface. The epithermal neutron data ranges from 0 to about 12 counts per second. The blue areas indicate high concentrations of Hydrogen (low epithermal neutron counts). A series of animations was generated to support a Space Science Update (SSU) on the topic. These animations were match-rendered with unsmoothed, smoothed, and Viking true-color data.
Completed 2002-05-28
Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neut …
Title Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neutron Data overlayed on MGS/MOLA Topography Data (Flyover, Viking True Color)
Abstract Mars Odyssey's Gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) instrument has detected large amounts of Hydrogen on Mars, particularly near the south pole. This is an indication that water ice exists in the upper meter of these areas of the Martian surface. The epithermal neutron data ranges from 0 to about 12 counts per second. The blue areas indicate high concentrations of Hydrogen (low epithermal neutron counts). A series of animations was generated to support a Space Science Update (SSU) on the topic. These animations were match-rendered with unsmoothed, smoothed, and Viking true-color data.
Completed 2002-05-28
Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neut …
Title Mars Odyssey Epithermal Neutron Data overlayed on MGS/MOLA Topography Data (Flyover, Viking True Color)
Abstract Mars Odyssey's Gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) instrument has detected large amounts of Hydrogen on Mars, particularly near the south pole. This is an indication that water ice exists in the upper meter of these areas of the Martian surface. The epithermal neutron data ranges from 0 to about 12 counts per second. The blue areas indicate high concentrations of Hydrogen (low epithermal neutron counts). A series of animations was generated to support a Space Science Update (SSU) on the topic. These animations were match-rendered with unsmoothed, smoothed, and Viking true-color data.
Completed 2002-05-28
Polar Orbiter: Fly Up to Pri …
Title Polar Orbiter: Fly Up to Primary Landing Site with Altitude Map
Abstract white/red = high altitude (~3000 meters), blue = low altitude (~0 meters)
Completed 1999-08-25
Rotating around the Tharsis …
Title Rotating around the Tharsis Rise (True Color)
Completed 1999-05-24
Polar Orbiter: Fly Up to 4 P …
Title Polar Orbiter: Fly Up to 4 Possible Landing Sites (Primary in Green, Secondary in Yellow)
Completed 1999-08-25
Close Up Fly Over of Mars Po …
Title Close Up Fly Over of Mars Polar Lander Landing Area in True Color
Abstract This is one of a series of visualizations showing false-colored renderings of the Martian topography measured by MOLA in the vicinity of the Mars Polar Lander landing site. Blue tones represent elevations of less than 2 kilometers, while reddish tones are greater than about 2.8 kilometers, relative to the mean equatorial height of Mars. The elevation of the landing site is about 2.4 km, midway into the polar layered terrain. The 400 meters (1/4 mile) resolution of the MOLA data gives a smoothed but vertically exaggerated view of the topography. At this scale it is impossible to ascertain the actual roughness at the lander's destination, forcing project directors to make their best guesses based on available data.
Completed 1999-11-22
Valles Marineris Flyover (lo …
Title Valles Marineris Flyover (long version)
Abstract This view of Valles Marineris was constructed by combining the Viking color texture with MOLA altimetry data. There is no vertical exaggeration applied to the surface displacement.
Completed 2000-03-09
Fly up to Sasquatch Crater v …
Title Fly up to Sasquatch Crater view one
Completed 1998-12-02
Polar Orbiter: Fly Up to the …
Title Polar Orbiter: Fly Up to the Primary Landing Site (Green)
Completed 1999-08-25
Hellas Crater Flat Flyover ( …
Title Hellas Crater Flat Flyover (True Color)
Completed 1999-05-24
Mars North Polar Fly In From …
Title Mars North Polar Fly In From Above And Tilt
Completed 1998-12-02
High Slow Fly around Pole
Title High Slow Fly around Pole
Completed 1998-12-02
Fly up to Dunes- thought to …
Title Fly up to Dunes- thought to cover ice
Completed 1998-12-02
Mars: Fly Straight over Pole
Title Mars: Fly Straight over Pole
Completed 1998-12-02
Gusev Crater
PIA04274
Sol (our sun)
Visual Imaging Subsystem
Title Gusev Crater
Original Caption Released with Image Released April 11, 2003 The designated landing site for the first Mars Exploration Rover mission is Gusev Crater, seen here in its geological context from NASA Viking images. Details of the Gusev Crater designated landing site are added with topographic information and higher-resolution imaging from instruments on the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey orbiters.
Meridiani Planum
PIA04275
Sol (our sun)
Visual Imaging Subsystem
Title Meridiani Planum
Original Caption Released with Image Released April 11, 2003 The designated landing site for the second Mars Exploration Rover mission is Meridiani Planum, seen here in its geological context from NASA Viking images Details of the Meridiani Planum designated landing site are added with topographic information and higher-resolution imaging from instruments on the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey orbiters.
A Face On Mars
Title A Face On Mars
Explanation This image, showing what looks to be a human face [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/facts/HTML/FS-016-HQ.html ] (above center) and other features of the Cydonia region on the Martian surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960207.html ], was produced using data from NASA's Viking 1 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/viking.html ] orbiter in 1976. Described in a NASA press release [ http://barsoom.msss.com/education/facepage/pio.html ] as a "rock formation which resembles a human head", some have since offered the extraordinary explanation that the face is an artificial construct built by a civilization on Mars [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ]! However, most scientists have a more conventional view - that this feature [ http://barsoom.msss.com/education/facepage/face.html ] is indeed a natural Martian hill whose illusory face-like appearance [ http://barsoom.msss.com/education/happy_face/happy_face.html ] depends on illumination and viewing angle. This month [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/98/cydonia2.html ], the Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/ ] satellite will be in position to take new pictures [ ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1998/98-050.txt ] of this region of controversial Martian features along with areas around the Mars Pathfinder [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971010.html ] and Viking landing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960722.html ] sites.
Mars: Looking For Viking
Title Mars: Looking For Viking
Explanation On July 20, 1976, the Viking 1 lander [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960720.html ] touched down on the Martian Chryse Planitia. Its exact landing site is somewhere [ http://cmex-www.arc.nasa.gov/MarsTools/MarsAtlasMaps/ MarsAtlasMaps.html ] in the white rectangle above. Unfortunately, this wide angle Mars Global Surveyor image [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/msss/camera/images/ 4_14_98_vl1_release/index.html ] taken on April 12 reveals a substantial dust storm in the area with light colored plumes apparently blowing toward the upper right of the picture. Attempts to find the first spacecraft to land on Mars [ http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/online.bks/mars/chap13.htm ] in the corresponding high resolution narrow field images have not been successful due in part to the increased atmospheric haze. The region shown here is about 100 miles across.
Viking 1's 30th!
PIA08616
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Viking 1's 30th!
Original Caption Released with Image 20 July 2006 Viking 1 landed 30 years ago today, on 20 July 1976. It was the first U.S. landing on Mars and a very exciting time for Mars exploration. Since that time, four additional spacecraft have successfully landed on Mars and conducted their science investigations. Today, new missions to the martian surface are in the works, with landings expected in 2008 (Phoenix) and 2010 (Mars Science Laboratory). The Viking 1 lander is difficult to see in Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images. The western Chryse Planitia landing site is often obscured by dust hazes and occasional storms, especially during northern winter, which would otherwise be the best time to look for the lander from orbit because the sun casts longer shadows in winter. When the atmosphere is clearest, in portions of the spring and summer, the sun is higher in the sky as seen from MGS's orbit. The spacecraft always passes over the landing site region around 2 p.m. in the afternoon. The suite of pictures shown here describes the best MOC view of the landing site. These were previously released in May 2005 [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/09/ ], but the MOC team felt that 20 July 2006 is an appropriate time to review this story. The first figure (left) visually tells how the lander was found. The initial observations of the location of Viking 1, as originally determined by members of the Viking science team based on sightlines to various crater rims seen in the lander images (black lines), did not show the detailed features we knew from the lander pictures (middle) to be in the area. Using geodetic measurements, the late Merton Davies of the RAND Corporation, a MGS MOC Co-Investigator, suggested that we should image areas to the east and north of where Viking 1 was thought to be. Timothy J. Parker of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, California), using sightlines to crater rims seen in the lander images (white lines), deduced a location very close to that suggested by Davies. The MOC image of that location, acquired in 2003, showed additional near-field features (rocks associated with a nearby crater) that closely matched the Viking 1 images (center and right frame, where B denotes "Volkswagen Rock"). The inset (upper right) is an enlargement that shows the location of the Viking 1 lander. The MOC image of the Viking 1 lander site (right) was acquired during a test of the MGS Pitch and Roll Observation (PROTO) technique conducted on 11 May 2003. (Following initial tests, the "c" part of "cPROTO" was begun by adding compensation for the motion of the planet to the technique). The PROTO or cPROTO approach allows MOC to obtain images with better than its nominal 1.5 meters (5 ft) per pixel resolution. The image shown here (right) was map projected at 50 centimeters (~20 inches) per pixel. The full 11 May 2003 image can be viewed in the MOC Gallery [ http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/ ], it is image, R05-00966 [ http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r03_r09/images/R05/R0500966.html ]. In addition to celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first U.S. robotic Mars landing, we note that 20 July is also the 37th anniversary of the first human landing on the Moon, on 20 July 1969. There are two dates that are most sacred in the space business (three, if you count the 4 October 1957 launch of Sputnik 1). The other date is 12 April, which celebrates the 1961 launch of the first human in space, and the 1981 launch of the first space shuttle orbiter.
Movement of Whole Martian Du …
PIA02355
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Movement of Whole Martian Dunes Difficult to Detect or Confirm
Original Caption Released with Image Dunes on Earth move downwind at different speeds depending upon the local wind conditions, the amount of loose sand available to be transported by wind, the shape and volume of the dunes, and overgrowths of vegetation. Typically, smaller dunes move faster than larger dunes. On Earth, some of the fastest-moving dunes that have been measured (e.g., in the deserts of Peru) move 10 to 30 meters (33 to 100 feet) per year. Small dunes usually have an almost crescent-shape to them, and are known to geologists as barchan dunes. To look for evidence of dune movement on Mars, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has been used to re-visit some areas of known barchan dunes--because these types move the fastest--that were observed by the Mariner 9 orbiter in 1972 and the Viking 1 and 2 orbiters between 1976 and 1980. The picture above, left, shows a MOC high-resolution image taken December 25, 1999. The classic, crescentic shape of the dark barchan dunes can be seen in this picture. The steep slopes, also known as the dune slip faces, on these dunes are facing toward the southwest (north is up in both pictures). Thus, the shape of the dunes indicates that they are moving toward the southwest. The picture above right shows the MOC image from December 1999 superimposed on a Viking 1 image taken May 27, 1978. During the 11 1/2 Mars years that passed between these two dates, it turns out that no difference can be detected in the position of the dunes seen in the MOC image and the Viking image. The earlier Viking image had a resolution of about 17 meters (56 ft) per pixel, while the MOC image had a resolution of about 3.8 meters (12 ft) per pixel. Although it looks like the dunes didn't move between the Viking and MOC images, this observation is limited by the resolution of the Viking image. It is entirely possible that the dunes have moved as much as 17-20 meters (16-66 ft) and one would not be able to tell by comparing the images. As it is, movement of less than 20 meters (66 ft) in 11 martian years (nearly 22 Earth years) is slower than some dunes of similar size and shape on Earth. Thus, it appears that martian dunes are not "experiencing" the level of activity commonly reported for some of the modern desert dunes found on Earth. The dune field illustrated in these pictures is located in a western Arabia Terra crater at 1.6°N, 351.6°W. Both the Viking and MOC images are illuminated from the left.
Movement of Whole Martian Du …
PIA02355
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Movement of Whole Martian Dunes Difficult to Detect or Confirm
Original Caption Released with Image Dunes on Earth move downwind at different speeds depending upon the local wind conditions, the amount of loose sand available to be transported by wind, the shape and volume of the dunes, and overgrowths of vegetation. Typically, smaller dunes move faster than larger dunes. On Earth, some of the fastest-moving dunes that have been measured (e.g., in the deserts of Peru) move 10 to 30 meters (33 to 100 feet) per year. Small dunes usually have an almost crescent-shape to them, and are known to geologists as barchan dunes. To look for evidence of dune movement on Mars, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has been used to re-visit some areas of known barchan dunes--because these types move the fastest--that were observed by the Mariner 9 orbiter in 1972 and the Viking 1 and 2 orbiters between 1976 and 1980. The picture above, left, shows a MOC high-resolution image taken December 25, 1999. The classic, crescentic shape of the dark barchan dunes can be seen in this picture. The steep slopes, also known as the dune slip faces, on these dunes are facing toward the southwest (north is up in both pictures). Thus, the shape of the dunes indicates that they are moving toward the southwest. The picture above right shows the MOC image from December 1999 superimposed on a Viking 1 image taken May 27, 1978. During the 11 1/2 Mars years that passed between these two dates, it turns out that no difference can be detected in the position of the dunes seen in the MOC image and the Viking image. The earlier Viking image had a resolution of about 17 meters (56 ft) per pixel, while the MOC image had a resolution of about 3.8 meters (12 ft) per pixel. Although it looks like the dunes didn't move between the Viking and MOC images, this observation is limited by the resolution of the Viking image. It is entirely possible that the dunes have moved as much as 17-20 meters (16-66 ft) and one would not be able to tell by comparing the images. As it is, movement of less than 20 meters (66 ft) in 11 martian years (nearly 22 Earth years) is slower than some dunes of similar size and shape on Earth. Thus, it appears that martian dunes are not "experiencing" the level of activity commonly reported for some of the modern desert dunes found on Earth. The dune field illustrated in these pictures is located in a western Arabia Terra crater at 1.6°N, 351.6°W. Both the Viking and MOC images are illuminated from the left.
Evidence for Recent Liquid W …
Title Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars
Full Description Gullies eroded into the wall of a meteor impact crater in Noachis Terra. This high resolution view (top left) from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) shows channels and associated aprons of debris that are interpreted to have formed by groundwater seepage, surface runoff, and debris flow. The lack of small craters superimposed on the channels and apron deposits indicates that these features are geologically young. It is possible that these gullies indicate that liquid water is present within the martian subsurface today. The MOC image was acquired on September 28, 1999. The scene covers an area approximately 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) wide by 6.7 km (4.1 mi) high (note, the aspect ratio is 1.5 to 1.0). Sunlight illuminates this area from the upper left. The image is located near 54.8S, 342.5W. The context image (above) shows the location of the MOC image on the south-facing wall of an impact crater approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) in diameter. The context picture was obtained by the Viking 1 orbiter in 1980 and is illuminated from the upper left. The large mound on the floor of the crater in the context view is a sand dune field. The Mars Orbiter Camera high resolution images are taken black-and-white (grayscale), the color seen here has been synthesized from the colors of Mars observed by the MOC wide angle cameras and by the Viking Orbiters in the late 1970s. A brief description of how the color was generated: The MOC narrow angle camera only takes grayscale (black and white) pictures. To create the color versions seen here, we have taken much lower resolution red and blue images acquired by the MOC's wide angle cameras, and by the Viking Orbiter cameras in the 1970s, synthesized a green image by averaging red and blue, and created a pallete of colors that represent the range of colors on Mars. We then use a relationship that correlates color and brightness to assign a color to each gray level. This is only a crude approximation of martian color. It is likely Mars would not look like this to a human observer at Mars.
Date 06/22/2000
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
A Rotating True Color View o …
Title A Rotating True Color View of the Martian South Pole
Abstract This is one of a series of visualizations showing false-colored renderings of the Martian topography measured by MOLA in the vicinity of the Mars Polar Lander landing site. Blue tones represent elevations of less than 2 kilometers, while reddish tones are greater than about 2.8 kilometers, relative to the mean equatorial height of Mars. The elevation of the landing site is about 2.4 km, midway into the polar layered terrain. The 400 meters (1/4 mile) resolution of the MOLA data gives a smoothed but vertically exaggerated view of the topography. At this scale it is impossible to ascertain the actual roughness at the lander's destination, forcing project directors to make their best guesses based on available data.
Completed 1999-11-22
Mars North Pole flyover
Title Mars North Pole flyover
Abstract MOLA takes elevation data of Mars North Pole combined with Viking colormap.
Completed 2000-03-15
Mars North Pole flyover
Title Mars North Pole flyover
Abstract MOLA takes elevation data of Mars North Pole combined with Viking colormap.
Completed 2000-03-15
Mars North Pole flyover
Title Mars North Pole flyover
Abstract MOLA takes elevation data of Mars North Pole combined with Viking colormap.
Completed 2000-03-15
Mars North Pole flyover
Title Mars North Pole flyover
Abstract MOLA takes elevation data of Mars North Pole combined with Viking colormap.
Completed 2000-03-15
Mars North Pole flyover
Title Mars North Pole flyover
Abstract MOLA takes elevation data of Mars North Pole combined with Viking colormap.
Completed 2000-03-15
Mars North Pole flyover
Title Mars North Pole flyover
Abstract MOLA takes elevation data of Mars North Pole combined with Viking colormap.
Completed 2000-03-15
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