Mars - Viking 2 Lander
Color Image of Frost at Utopia Planitia on Mars
This color image shows a thin layer of water ice frost on the martian surface at Utopia Planitia.
It was taken by Viking 2 Lander camera 2 on 18 May 1979, almost exactly one martian year (687 days)
after frost first appeared at this spot and was imaged by Viking 2. The layer is thought to be only
a couple thousandths of a centimeter thick. It is speculated that dust particles in the atmosphere
pick up tiny bits of water. When it gets cold enough for carbon dioxide to solidify, some of it attaches
to the dust and ice and it falls to the surface. The view is looking towards the south southeast, the
long boulder to the right is roughly one meter across.
(Viking 2 Lander, P-21873)
Larger image: 120 K
High resolution tiff file (0.7 Mb)
Location & Time Information
Date/Time (UT): 1979-05-18
Distance/Range (km): .001
Central Latitude/Longitude (deg): +44.57, 225.74
Orbit(s): lander
Imaging Information
Area or Feature Type: lander image, surface, rock
Instrument: Viking lander camera 2
Instrument Resolution (pixels): 512 (vertical), 6 bit
Instrument Field of View (deg): 100 x 0.12 (single scan), 100 x 342.5 (max.)
Filter: N/A
Illumination Incidence Angle (deg): N/A
Phase Angle (deg): N/A
Instrument Look Direction: N/A
Surface Emission Angle (deg): N/A
Ordering Information
CD-ROM Volume: N/A
NASA Image ID number: P-21873
Other Image ID number: 21I093/960
NSSDC Data Set ID (Photo): 75-083C-06F
NSSDC Data Set ID (CD): N/A
Other ID: N/A
Updated 04 June 2003, DRW.
