Sand Dunes And Large Rocks Revealed By Viking 1

Sand dunes and large rocks are revealed in this panorama picture of Mars, the first photograph taken by Viking 1's Camera 1 on July 23.

The horizon is approximately 3 kilometers (2 miles) away. The left and right thirds of this picture are the same areas that were photographed on July 20 (Sol O) by Camera 2 and provide stereo coverage. The middle third reveals a part of the Martian surface not seen on the July 20 panorama. The late afternoon sun is high in the sky over the left side of the picture. The support struts of the S-band high-gain antenna extend to the top of the picture. The American flags are located on the two RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) wind screens. In the middle third of the picture, the rocky surface is covered by thick deposits of wind-blown material, forming numerous dunes. At the center of the picture on the horizon are two low hills which may be part of the rim of a distant crater. Two very large rocks are visible in the middleground; the nearer one is 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter and is 8 meters (25 feet) from the spacecraft. A cloud layer is visible halfway between the horizon and the top of the picture. The meteorology boom is located right of center. Behind it, the 'White Mesa' is visible, which could be seen on the far left side of the Sol O Camera 2 panorama. In the near ground are numerous rocks about 10 cm (4 inches) across, with horseshoe-shaped scour marks on their upwind side and wind tails in their lee. The fine-grained material in front of them contains small pits formed by impact of material kicked out by the Lander spacecraft's rocket engines.