Monster Viking Lander 2 Mosaic Target Name:   Mars Spacecraft:   Viking Lander 2 Produced by:   Calvin J. Hamilton Copyright:  © Calvin J. Hamilton (Publisher Permission Request)

• The Surface of Mars

This monster mosaic of Utopia Planitia was created from more than 20 of the highest resolution images taken by Viking Lander 2. A few holes containing the Viking Lander were filled by lower resolution images.

The Viking Lander 2 site looks like a rocky desert on Earth. It is rocker than at the lander 1 site and is less hilly. There are no drifts of sand close to the lander; however, several channels measuring as large as a meter in width and up to 10 cm deep, meanders through the pictures. The smoothness of the soil suggests that the rocks sit upon a layer of hard packed sediment.

One of the footpads of Viking Lander 2 is on a rock which creates about a 8° slope for the camera. The apparent looking hill in the center of the image is due to the slope of the camera. The terrain is in reality flat. For a geometrically corrected image see "vlmos2c".

This image is Copyrighted © 1997 by Calvin J. Hamilton. Any commercial/for-profit use of this image needs to be addressed to Calvin J. Hamilton.