Viking 2 Lander Images
Viking 2 Lander color image looking south of spacecraft and Utopia Planitia
Viking 2 Lander image showing the spacecraft and part of Utopia Planitia, looking due
south. Note the American flags, color grid, and bicentennial symbols on the spacecraft,
which were used for color balance. The RTG (radiothermal generator) cover is in the
foreground with the flag. The S-band high-gain antenna is at the top center, and the other
RTG cover is at the left. The image spans an azimuth of about 140 degrees. The image was
taken at 12:20 lander local time. (Viking 2 Lander, 21C056)
View of the surface of Mars looking across the Viking 2 Lander
Viking 2 lander image looking back across the craft. Dark boulders are prominent against
the reddish soil. The landing site, Utopia Plantia, is a region of fractured plains. The
lander is about 200 km south of Mie crater, and may be on top of one of the crater's
ejecta blankets. The largest rocks are about half a meter in size. The view is
approximately to the southwest. (Voyager 2 Lander, 22A158)
Viking 2 Lander color image of Utopia Planitia looking SSW
Viking 2 Lander image of the spacecraft and Utopia Planitia looking SSW. At the center of
the image is the pole for the S-band high gain antenna. In the foreground left is the
radiothermal generator (RTG) and to the right is the other. The camera test target grids
are visible near the center. Note the dark gray rocks littering the plain are partly
covered with orange dust. The image covers about 70 degrees azimuth and was taken at 9:29
local time. (Viking 2 Lander, 22A166)
Frost at the Utopia Planitia site on Mars
Viking 2 Lander image showing patches of ground frost at the Utopia Planitia site on Mars.
The image was taken at 12:32 local time in late northern winter. The frost layer is
extremely thin, only a few hundredths of a mm thick. The frost persisted at temperatures
higher than the freezing point of carbon dioxide, and so must be water ice or some
combination of water and carbon dioxide ice. The landing site is at 47.6 N, 225.7 W and
the view is looking due SWW. The colors have been distorted to enhance the contrast.
(Viking 2 Lander, 22E169)
Viking 2 Lander eastward color view showing trenches and shroud
Viking 2 Lander close-up of the surface of Mars. The metal cylinder at right is the shroud
for the surface sampler instrument, which was ejected after landing. To the left of it are
trenches dug by the sampling arm, and at lower right part of a footpad can be seen. Note
the holes in the rocks, which appear to be vesicles produced by gas bubbles when the rocks
first solidified from lava. The camera is looking due east and local time is 19:47. The
shroud is about 30 cm long. (Viking 2 Lander, 22G144)