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Collection:
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NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Viking 2's 30th!
Title
Viking 2's 30th!
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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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), 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)"). The candidate Polar Lander site was further imaged in 2005 and found not to be the lander (see 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.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_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), 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)"). The candidate Polar Lander site was further imaged in 2005 and found not to be the lander (see 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. Original Caption Released with Image
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Image Credit
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Produced By:
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Malin Space Science Systems
Produced_By
Malin Space Science Systems
Produced By
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Mission:
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Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Mission
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Mission
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Spacecraft:
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Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
Spacecraft
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
Spacecraft
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Target Name:
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Mars
Target_Name
Mars
Target Name
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Is a satellite of:
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Sol (our sun)
Is_a_satellite_of
Sol (our sun)
Is a satellite of
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Instrument:
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Mars Orbiter Camera
Instrument
Mars Orbiter Camera
Instrument
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Product Size:
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4256 samples x 3524 lines
Product_Size
4256 samples x 3524 lines
Product Size
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Producer ID:
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MOC2-1574
Producer_ID
MOC2-1574
Producer ID
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facet_what:
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Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Crater
facet_what
Crater
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Polar
facet_what
Polar
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Spirit
facet_what
Spirit
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars
facet_what
Mars
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Viking
facet_what
Viking
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Opportunity
facet_what
Opportunity
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Viking 2 Lander
facet_what
Viking 2 Lander
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Pathfinder
facet_what
Mars Pathfinder
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Surveyor
facet_what
Surveyor
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Polar Lander
facet_what
Mars Polar Lander
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Phoenix
facet_what
Phoenix
facet_what
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facet_what:
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MSL
facet_what
MSL
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter (MGS)
facet_what
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter (MGS)
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
facet_what
Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
facet_what
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
facet_what
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Mars
facet_where
Mars
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_when:
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2004
facet_when
2004
facet_when
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facet_when:
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2005
facet_when
2005
facet_when
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facet_when:
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2009
facet_when
2009
facet_when
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facet_when:
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September 2006
facet_when
September 2006
facet_when
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facet_when:
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August 2007
facet_when
August 2007
facet_when
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facet_when:
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September 1976
facet_when
September 1976
facet_when
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facet_when:
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May 2005
facet_when
May 2005
facet_when
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facet_when:
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20 July 1976
facet_when
20 July 1976
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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2004
facet_when_year
2004
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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1976
facet_when_year
1976
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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2005
facet_when_year
2005
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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2006
facet_when_year
2006
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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2007
facet_when_year
2007
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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2009
facet_when_year
2009
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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PIA08723
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA08723
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA08723
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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