Mars - Viking 1 Lander
Trenches dug by the Viking 1 Lander in the "Sandy Flats" location on Mars
The Viking 1 Lander sampling arm created a number
of deep trenches as part of the surface composition
and biology experiments on Mars. The digging tool
on the sampling arm (at lower center) could scoop
up samples of material and deposit them into the
appropriate experiment. Some holes were dug deeper
to study soil which was not affected by solar
radiation and weathering. The trenches in this
ESE looking image are in the "Sandy Flats" area
of the landing site at Chryse Planitia. The boom
holding the meteorology sensors is at left.
(Viking 1 Lander, 11D128)
