This image was acquired at the Viking Lander 2 site with camera number
- Some parts of the Lander are visible in the foreground and to the
left and right. The angular rock, also visible in the fourth image, is
visible to the far right in this frame. This image illustrates that the
drifts at this landing site are generally smaller than those at Lander
1, while blocks at the Lander 2 site are, in general, larger and more
abundant.
The high resolution images used to make this image were processed to
remove distortion introduced by the special electronic cameras on board
the Landers. The sky has also been smoothed so as to appear more natural.
This synthetic high resolution color image was created by combining
standard low resolution Viking Lander color images with standard high
resolution Viking Lander black and white images, using image processing
techniques. In simple terms, the colors are separated from the color
image. Using the computer, those colors are then painted onto high
resolution images covering the same area. The image has had its colors
balanced to approximate what would be seen if the Martian surface
materials were on Earth. Ordinarily images are redder, since the Martian
atmosphere carries extremely fine-grained red dust in suspension.
Credit: Edward A. Guinness, Washington University in St. Louis.