Title

Viking 2 image of Mars Utopian Plain, September 3, 1976. Creator: NASA.

Caption

Viking 2 image of Mars Utopian Plain, September 3, 1976. The boulder-strewn field of red rocks reaches to the horizon nearly two miles from the Viking 2 spacecraft. Scientists believe the colours of the Martian surface and sky in this image represent their true colours. Fine particles of red dust have settled on spacecraft surfaces. The salmon colour of the sky is caused by dust particles suspended in the atmosphere. Colour calibration charts for the cameras are mounted at three locations on the spacecraft. Note the blue star field and red stripes of the US flag. The circular structure at top is the high-gain antenna, pointed toward Earth. Viking 2 landed some 4600 miles from its twin, Viking 1, which touched down on July 20, 1976.

Credit line

Photo12/Heritage Images/Heritage Space

Reference

HRM21B20_266

Model release

No

Property release

No

License type

Rights managed

Available size

5,3Mb (283,2Kb) / 5,1in x 4,0in / 1536 x 1212 (300dpi)

Keywords

rocks rock country space planet exploration science geology remote control geological solar system astronomy color antenna surface atmosphere location century concept spacecraft space exploration space travel seventies NASA Mars United States of America Colour 1970s red planet 20th century dust American America USA Viking Orbiter 1 photograph united states unmanned Viking Orbiter 2 National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration Heritage Space Viking 1 Viking 2 Viking 1 Lander