Physical features on Mars

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Even though dust covered, there were several ‘crater-like’ features visible rising above the dust .

Carl Sagan took a polaroid of the TV screen in the headquarters of Mariner 9 – he rushed into a group of scientists in the next room and they realized that these were volcanic calderas!!

Slide 11

Mariner 9’s Mars Milestones

349 days in orbit (circled Mars twice daily for a year)

Mariner 9 transmitted 7,329 images, covering over 80% of Mars' surface

lowest altitude images distance of spacecraft ~900 miles above surface

An infrared radiometer was included to detect volcanic activity

Mars' tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, were also photographed.

Channels on the flanks of the

volcano Hecates Tholus. Various

radial channels have been interpreted

as erosional ash channels,

lava channels or channels eroded

by fluvial processes.

Mariner 9 narrow angle camera.

Slide 12

The images revealed structures

resembling river beds

The images revealed structures

resembling river beds

Olympus Mons – 3x as high

as volcanoes on Earth

Slide 13

Valles Marineris – picture from Mariner

Valles Marineris - system of canyons over 4,000 km (2,500 miles)

- revived people’s interest in possible water/life

Slide 14

Valles Marineris - “Grand Canyon of Mars”

- streches for at least 2500 miles (NYC ßà LA)

- “rift valley” – region broken by crust motions earlier in Mars’ history

signs of river erosion in early history of Mars (3-4 Billion yrs ago) like Grand Canyon

Slide 15

Viking 1 and 2 – Orbiter & Lander

Slide 16

Viking Orbiter

This image is a mosaic of the

Schiaparelli hemisphere of Mars.

The center of this image is near

the impact crater Schiaparelli,

450 kilometers (280 miles) across!.

Bright white areas to the south,

including the Hellas impact basin

at extreme lower right, are covered

by carbon dioxide frost.

Slide 17

Viking Orbiter

This image is a mosaic of the

Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars.

The center is the Valles Marineris system – 3,000 km (1,860 miles) long and up to 8 km (5 miles) deep.

Many huge ancient river channels begin from the chaotic terrain and north-central canyons and run north.