Mars Lander

[KSC-73PC-0630]

  • Photo Number: KSC-73PC-0630

  • Release Date: 29-Jun-1973

    • Description: VIKING PROJECT -- In 1976, NASA will land two automated scientific laboratories on the planet Mars. This pioneering effort to explore in detail the surface of another primary planet in our solar system will be identified by a name that exemplifies the spirit of historic exploration. To accomplish this goal, two spacecraft will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center within a month of another in mid-1975. These spacecraft, each including a lander and an orbiter, will hurtle nearly 460 million miles around the Sun before reaching the red planet. The descent will occur when Mars is about 225 million miles from Earth and nearly on the other side of the Sun. This requires a completely automated de-orbit and landing operation because, at that distance, two-way communication between Mars and Earth takes nearly 45 minutes. Surface science will then commence with principal scientific interest invested in biology, geology and meteorology.

    Resolution Format Width
    (Pixels)    		 Height
    (Pixels)    		 Size
    (Bytes)
    Thumbnail GIF 100 79 11947
    Slide GIF 163 156 36628
    Low GIF 304 240 104022
    Medium JPEG 972 768 136877
    High JPEG 2670 2109 683407

    Point of Contact

    Name: NASA Kennedy Space Center

    Address:

    KSC Public Affairs Office
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899

    NIX Search KSC Search

    DISCLAIMER: No copyright protection is asserted for these photographs. If a recognizable person appears in this photograph, use for commercial purposes may infringe a right of privacy or publicity. It may not be used to state or imply the endorsement by NASA of a commercial product. (See NASA Copyright Notice)

    Photos By: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Scanned By: Seven/Still Photo Imaging
    Captions: Information Dynamics, Inc (Kay Grinter, Anita Barrett, and Elaine Liston)
    Curator: NASA/KSC Internet Systems Lab (Dumoulin, Downs, Paladino)
    Last Updated: Tuesday August 28 13:29:40 EDT 2001 (Anita Barrett)

    A service of the NASA Image Exchange (NIX)