Viking Photographs a Martian Dust Storm
Image Not Available
Photograph
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
American, estab. 1958
Viking Photographs a Martian Dust Storm
1977
Gelatin silver print
Image: 19 x 24 cm
Overall: 20.3 x 25.3 cm
Museum accession
2011.0100.0006
Inscriptions verso (applied label, typed): NATIONAL AERONATICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION/ VIKING NEWS CENTER/ PASADENA, CALIFORNIA/ (213) 354-6000/
PHOTO CAPTION/
Viking 2-31/ P-18598 B/ February 22, 1977/
Viking photographs a Martian dust storm. In this picture from Viking/ Orbiter 2, a turbulent, bright bust cloud (arrow) more than 300 kilom-/eters (186 miles) across can be seen inside the great Argye Basin./ It is apparently moaving eastward under the influence of strong winds./ Large depressions like Argyre and Hellas seem to be favored locations/ for formation of dust storms. Later this year, when Mars comes clos-/est to the Sun, a local dust storm like this one may spread violently/ and cover most of the planet. A global dust storm delayed the start/ of Mariner 9's mapping mission in 1971. Although Viking scientists/ do not welcome the likely interruption of their mapping from orbit,/ the possibility of studying a global dust storm from its beginning is recognized as an unusually interesting phenomenon. The great/ Argyre Basin in the southern hemisphere of Mars is one of several/ enormous depressions created by the impact of large asteroids early/ in the planet's history. Previous Viking images and infrared data/ have shown that during winter the floor of Argyre is covered with/ carbon dioxide frost - - the south polar ice cap.
PHOTO CAPTION/
Viking 2-31/ P-18598 B/ February 22, 1977/
Viking photographs a Martian dust storm. In this picture from Viking/ Orbiter 2, a turbulent, bright bust cloud (arrow) more than 300 kilom-/eters (186 miles) across can be seen inside the great Argye Basin./ It is apparently moaving eastward under the influence of strong winds./ Large depressions like Argyre and Hellas seem to be favored locations/ for formation of dust storms. Later this year, when Mars comes clos-/est to the Sun, a local dust storm like this one may spread violently/ and cover most of the planet. A global dust storm delayed the start/ of Mariner 9's mapping mission in 1971. Although Viking scientists/ do not welcome the likely interruption of their mapping from orbit,/ the possibility of studying a global dust storm from its beginning is recognized as an unusually interesting phenomenon. The great/ Argyre Basin in the southern hemisphere of Mars is one of several/ enormous depressions created by the impact of large asteroids early/ in the planet's history. Previous Viking images and infrared data/ have shown that during winter the floor of Argyre is covered with/ carbon dioxide frost - - the south polar ice cap.
