The Flickr Chryseplanitia Image Generatr

This Viking 1 image is one of first images of a sunset as seen from the surface of Mars.

The image shows the Chryse Planitia region of Mars about 15 minutes before sunset on August 21, 1976. The camera is pointed southwest and the Sun is at an elevation angle of 3 or 4 degrees above the horizon and about 50 degrees clockwise from the right edge of the frame.

The low Sun angle highlights topographic features.

• A depression is visible near the center of the picture, just above the lander's leg support structure, which was not evident in previous pictures taken at higher Sun angles.
• Just beyond the depression are large rocks about 1 foot (30 centimeters) across.
• The diffuse shadows are due to the sunlight that has been scattered by the dusty Martian atmosphere as a result of the long path length from the setting Sun.
• Toward the horizon, several bright patches of bare bedrock are revealed.

NASA Media Usage Guidelines

Credit: NASA/JPL
Image Number: S79-40190
Date: August 21, 1976

“Viking I This is a color camera test strip on the Viking I lander’s color bars, this device helps calibrate the color TV camera for sending back true color of the Martian surface.”

Yet another well-crafted, thought out & succinct NASA description.

As a handful of the less than a handful of you that stumbled on this post might recall, the first published color Viking 1 lander photograph featured a blue sky. This was corrected and reissued a day or two later.
So, in this test photo – which shows the color calibration chart – the sky (taking into account the yellowing of the overall image) is definitely blue…at a minimum...‘bluish’. So, wouldn’t/shouldn’t that have been ‘caught’ in this image? I mean, if you get the colors right on the color calibration chart, wouldn’t that have automatically meant the rest of the colors in the image would also be correct, i.e., NOT blue??? I don’t get it.

Interesting:

www.donaldedavis.com/PARTS/MARSCLRS.html
Credit: “Don Davis: Space Artist and Animator” website

Also:

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16800.html

Finally, maybe the answer lies within the following, but I sure as hell ain’t reading the whole thing:

gillevin.com/pdf/5555-29.PDF

Note also the black grid pattern on the lander’s near pristine white surface, meant to gauge dust deposition both from the soil sampler depositing material in the experiment intakes on top of the lander deck and deposition by atmospheric dust. Earlier during this first Viking year on Mars, there were two great dust storms, the most intense lasting about 90 sols.

“This is a close-up of the sunset on Sol 24 as seen by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder. The red sky in the background and the blue around the Sun are approximately as they would appear to the human eye. The color of the Sun itself is not correct -- the Sun was overexposed in each of the 3 color images that were used to make this picture. The true color of the Sun itself may be near white or slightly bluish.

August 28, 1997

Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.

Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998.”

The above & image at/from:

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00920
Credit: JPL Photojournal website

And, associated with the panoramic image of which PIA00920 is a portion:

“This image of the Martian sunset from Sol 24 shows much more color variation than had previously been seen. The blue color near the Sun is not caused by clouds of water ice, but by the Martian dust itself. The dust in the atmosphere absorbs blue light, giving the sky its red color, but it also scatters some of the blue light into the area just around the Sun because of its size. The blue color only becomes apparent near sunrise and sunset, when the light has to pass through the largest amount of dust. This image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder.”

Above & panorama at/from:

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01547

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00917
Both above credit: JPL Photojournal website

Remarkably & unfortunately, this is the FIRST Pathfinder inflight image - on photographic paper - that I’ve come across. Dang…that’s since 1997!

This might be the first image taken from the Martian surface of the solar disk at sunset. Although the Viking Landers took spectacular images of the sunset, to the best of my recollection, they were all after the sun was below the horizon. Although, the Viking 2 Lander did capture a sunrise:

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00576
Credit: JPL Photojournal website

And by Viking 1, also a sunrise:

www.planetary.org/space-images/sunrise-at-the-viking-1-la...
Credit: “The Planetary Society” website

©UAESA/MBRSC/HopeMarsMission/EXI/AndreaLuck

Map on: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasei_Valles#/media/File:Kasei_Vall...

-----------------------------
⬆️North
Filters: R+G+B
Spacecraft altitude: 2228 km
Timetag 2021-03-16
----------------------------------

©UAESA/MBRSC/HopeMarsMission/EXI/AndreaLuck

twitter.com/andrluck/status/1492998975095549954?s=20&...

Feel free to share, giving the appropriate credit and providing a link to the original image or tweet: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/

“Color-enhanced image of sunset on Mars, recorded by the Viking 1 lander. Part of the spacecraft is just visible at bottom right, colored dark blue. The contouring effect around the setting sun is a result of the imaging system.”

Disappointingly, the image and the above, which may have been part of the original NASA caption, seem to only be available at the ‘pay to play’ sites.

A high contrast version is contained within:

history.nasa.gov/EP-177/ch8-2.html

Although I can see how this has an artistic, mod/pop…whatever it’s called, appeal, I’ve always disliked it. Yet it seemed to have been oft-reproduced. I remember seeing it as a poster, lithograph of course…I think even in NASA/JPL informational/promotional material.
It definitely looks way better as an actual photograph print, not the garish, ‘HDR’, end of “2001: A Space Odyssey”, comic book-like look I seem to recall & refer to above.

i.discogs.com/kAPI00d2TdTseTZwVL5YXOR03oD9osbsjRzeG_z1zbk...

i.discogs.com/Lc1xLVGuQIhLAr66dCTnXmd-qAXxrQPVuiUYqO3HBOU...
Credit: Both above credit Discogs website

Further, although the image is subdued & accurate, the ‘contour lines’ do seem to match. Maybe just processed differently? IDK:

“Viking 1 Lander image of a Martian sunset over Chryse Planitia. In this image the sun is 2 degrees below the local horizon. The banding in the sky is an artifact produced by the incremental brightness levels of the camera. This image was taken on the 30th Martian day (sol) after touchdown, at 19:13 local time. The camera is pointing towards the southwest.”

At:

nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/vl1_12a240.html
Credit: NSSDCA website

Also:

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viking_sunset.jpg
Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Finally, featured on the cover. The right half of it that is:

ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19800009678

“This mosaic of five Mars pictures shows the eastern part of the Chryse region near the prime Viking 1 landing site. The Viking Orbiter cameras took the pictures from a range of about 1600 kilometers (992 miles) on June 23. Braided channels record water flowing on the planet in the past. Fine grooves and hollows on the upstream side of flow obstacles also are seen. Shore of the channel is at lower right.”

To me, this was the most iconic/memorable early Viking Orbiter image that provided evidence of past flowing water on Mars.

And/or:

"Islands near Chryse Planitia

"Islands" near Chryse Planitia. Teardrop-shaped "islands" are shown at the mouth of Ares Vallis near the southern boundary of Chryse Planitia. Flow was from the south and apparently diverged around obstacles such as craters and low hills to form a sharp prow upstream and an elongate tail downstream. A shallow moat surrounds the entire island. Similar patterns on Earth have been formed by catastrophic floods, wind erosion, and glacial action. From top to bottom, the three large craters are named Lod, Bok, and Gold. [211-4987; 21°N, 31°W]"

Per:

"NASA SP-441: VIKING ORBITER VIEWS OF MARS". At:

history.nasa.gov/SP-441/ch4.htm

Specifically:

history.nasa.gov/SP-441/p37.htm

“COMING IN FOR A LANDING: This is artist Don Davis’ concept of how the Viking Lander, still enclosed in an aeroshell, will appear when it is some 20,000 feet above the surface of Mars as it prepares to land in July 1976. Two Viking spacecraft were launched in August and September from Cape Canaveral.”

And/or:

“This is artist Don Davis' conception of events some 20,000 feet above the Martin surface as the Viking lander (enclosed in a aeroshell) heads for a touch down on the plains of Chryse about July 4, 1976. After parachute deployment, the Viking lander detaches from the aeroshell and proceeds to a soft landing on the Martian surface, using small rockets for braking and maneuvering. The view is to the south. The bright star above the aeroshell is Fomalhaut. Capricorn is in the sky at right. The Mars landing will culminate a 704-million-kilometer journey from Earth which is scheduled to begin with launch on August 11, 1975. A second Viking will be launched 10 days later.”

Note, this beautiful work depicts actual Martian topography, and, as the second caption cursorily mentions (without context), that it's a view to the south. It’s looking across the original Viking 1 prime landing site, for crying out loud! Ugh.
You'd think that the “southerly view” would've been expounded on, instead of dwelling on what star & constellation are visible in the sky. If nothing else was going on, sure…attention to detail. 👍 And, all 3 - 5 of you know, I'm all about going down rabbit holes. In this case, the correct rabbit hole is obvious - and it doesn’t include Formalhaut & Capricorn. See the image below for the lacking context.

An amazing body of work, and much of it - in my world - iconic:

www.donaldedavis.com
Credit: Don Davis: “Space Artist and Animator” website

“VIKING DIGS A DEEP HOLE ON MARS -- This 110-degree color panorama of the Viking 1 Landing area was taken Feb. 17 to document deep-trenching activities that took place Feb. 12 and 14. The area viewed extends from north to northeast of the lander. The trench, to the right of the meteorology boom, is being dug to obtain samples from as far as 30 centimeters (12 inches) below the surface. Some significant changes can be seen in this picture, compared with earlier pictures of the landing area: the sky is much brighter than it was in the days just after landing last July. That indicates that the amount of dust suspended in the atmosphere has increased markedly, as more scattered light is now reaching the surface; hence the shadows (of the meteorology boom and the spacecraft itself) are no longer dark. Finally, the amount of reddish dust on the spacecraft has increased as a result of sampling activity: fine dust can be seen on the leg support and the radioisotope thermoelectric generator cover. On March 12 the surface sampler will deliver some fine material from the trench to the inorganic chemical instrument. That sample analysis may help explain the anomalously high sulfur content of previous samples. On April 2 a sample from the bottom of the trench will be delivered to the biology instrument so scientists can try to better understand the chemistry of the Martian soil observed in earlier experiments.”

While a whole lot of entities have, or offer this image - the JPL Photojournal website not being one of them - the following is the only one I came across that at least has an abridged version of the original caption:

www.tsgc.utexas.edu/spacecraft/viking/v1l_01.html
Credit: Texas Space Grant Consortium website.

“This is an artist’s concept of a 360 panorama of the planet Mars and the upper surface of the Viking lander as viewed by Camera No. 2”

I believe it’s the Viking 1 lander. A very rarely seen work by the immensely talented, knowledgeable & multifaceted Paul Fjeld:

www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/fjeld.html

www.pfinspace.com/
Credit: “Paul Fjeld: “SPACE ART By PAUL FJELD” website

If indeed Viking 1, compare/contrast:

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03166
Credit: JPL Photojournal website

“Color pictures taken by the two cameras on Viking 1 Lander provide stereo coverage of a 45-degree Martian view looking southeast from the spacecraft. Viking 1 landed on Mars’ Chryse Planitia on July 20, 1976. The picture at right was taken by camera no. 2 on July 21, at left by camera no. 1 on July 24, both at about noon local Mars time. The cameras are mounted 31½ inches apart atop the Lander body. The stereo effect may be achieved with any standard pocket stereo viewer.”

“Valles Marineris, the “Grand Canyon” of Mars, is seen from end-to-end--some 5,000 kilometers (3,300 miles) in all--in this photo taken June 18 by Viking 1 just one day before the spacecraft went into orbit around the planet. The canyon, measured by Mariner 9 in 1972, is about five kilometers (three miles) deep at the west (upper)end and is progressively more shallow to the east. The canyon is just south of the equator and runs parallel to the equator, Chryse, the prime landing area for Viking 1, is about 2,200 kilometers (1,370 miles) due north of the canyon’s east end and is in the picture near the middle of the lighted limb. The very dark spot at the top is Ascraeus Mons, the most northerly of the three giant Tharsis volcanic mountains which have been in many of the approach photos. This picture was taken through a minus-blue filter from a range of 360,000 kilometers (225,000 miles).”

An all-too rare well written description/caption…much appreciated…whoever you are/were.

See also:

twitter.com/jeremysmariath/status/934493313306001408/photo/1

With LOTS of other well presented photos:

twitter.com/i/events/934496601417986048
Both above credit Twitter/Jeremy Mariathasan

crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:LV-6.jpg
Credit: NASA Cultural Resources (CRGIS) website

"This color picture of Mars was taken July 21--the day following Viking 1's successful landing on the planet. The local time on Mars is approximately noon. The view is southeast from the Viking. Orange-red surface materials cover most of the surface, apparently forming a thin veneer over darker bedrock exposed in patches, as in the lower right. The reddish surface materials may be limonite (hydrated ferric oxide). Such weathering products form on Earth in the presence of water and an oxidizing atmosphere. The sky has a reddish cast, probably due to scattering and reflection from reddish sediment suspended in the lower atmosphere. The scene was scanned three times by the spacecraft's camera number no. 2, through a different color filter each time. To assist in balancing the colors, a second picture was taken of a test chart mounted on the rear of the spacecraft. Color data for these patches were adjusted until the patches were an appropriate color of gray. The same calibration was then used for the entire scene. Another version of this photo (Viking 1-46) with a sky that appeared more pink, gray and blue, was shown last week. This interpretation has been modified with further processing."

This photograph is in amazing condition. I'm serious, no hype. It's strikingly pristine.

www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna314601
Credit: NBC News website

www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA00563
Credit: JPL website

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00563
Credit: JPL photojournal website

"One of Viking 1's three feet, which should be visible in this view, lies buried beneath a cover of loose Martian soil. This picture, taken Sunday (August 1), is the first to show the buried footpad no. 3. If not buried, the edge of the foot would be seen extending across the picture about midway between top and bottom. The foot sank about five inches, and fine-grained soil slumped into the depression and over the foot. The cracked nature of the surface near the slump area and the small, steep cliff at left indicates that the material is weakly cohesive. The surface material here is very similar mechanically to lunar soil."

Above from/at, along with the excerpted standard sized image:

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00390
Credit: JPL Photojournal website

5" x 11.75"

Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a small mound (for unmeasured amounts of "small") mound in Chryse Planitia.

Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of a small mound (for unmeasured amounts of "small") mound in Chryse Planitia. Inverted grayscale variant (which makes it a lot easier to make out the details).

“First color picture taken on the surface of Mars today by the Viking 1 Lander shows that the Martian soil consists mainly of reddish fine-grained material. However, small patches of black or blue-black soil are found deposited around many of the foreground rocks. Most of the rocks also are coated with a reddish stain except where the rock’s surface has been freshly fractured or abraded. There is a group of black or blue-black rock[s] near the horizon which appear free of the reddish stain. They may be relatively young volcanic rocks or older volcanic rocks very recently excavated from the subsurface. The horizon is about three kilometers (1.8 miles) from Viking 1’s camera. The scene, covering about 67° from left to right, was scanned three times, each time with a different color filter. The color was reconstructed with computer processing.”

I distinctly recall when this initial "ta-da...blue sky...oh wait, oops!" version was released & pulled back shortly thereafter:

www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna314601
Credit: NBC News website

Subsequently corrected version:

www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA00563
Credit: JPL website

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00563
Credit: JPL photojournal website

Mars Express limb scan image taken over the Eastern circum-Chryse region. This region lies at the intersection of several different terrain types. In the north (left) are an extension of the vast plains region of Mare Acidalium. In the east (top) are the ancient, heavily cratered highlands region of Arabia Terra. In the south (right) are the gigantic flood canyons of Margarifiter Terra.

This image was taken in the northern winter season, and several polar fronts are visible in the left half of the image. A large polar front sweeping is sweeping south across the center of the image, leaving small cloud streets in its wake. These cloud formations are common in the wake of polar fronts here on Earth.

This image was taken during Mars Express' 14,144th orbit of Mars, February 23, 2015. It uses a combination of blue and green filter images taken by HRSC in addition to a simulated red image derived from the blue and green channel data.

Image Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/J. Cowart, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Bahram Vallis crosses this VIS image. Bharam Vallis drains from the higher elevations of Lunae Planum into the Chryse Planitia basin.

At the base of several of the scalloped channel wall sections, deposits of material can be seen.

This martian scene spans 19 x 67 kilometers (12 x 42 miles). To see where on Mars this area lies, and to download high-resolution versions of the image, go to themis.asu.edu/zoom-20190724a

See the Red Planet Report at redplanet.asu.edu for updates on Mars research and exploration. For more about Mars geology, check out the Mars-ePedia: marsed.asu.edu/marsepedia

For the latest THEMIS Mars images as received by mission scientists, see themis.asu.edu/livefrommars. To learn more about the THEMIS camera and its Mars images, see themis.asu.edu.

This image is in the public domain and may be republished free of charge. If used, please credit it as NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University.

What is ‘Special VLSTEREO’ you may ask. I know - not anymore, if ever - but I've got more, so...

“Special VLSTEREO

The high-resolution mosaics have been processed through VLSTEREO in various modes that emphasize or enhance certain topographic characteristics of the scene. Twenty (20) separate photoproducts (10 pairs) have been produced in this way.

Each photoproduct is labelled with a large-type descriptor in the format:

SPECIAL VLSTEREO
L1.C1.AM.Q3+Q4 (FRONT - LEFT EYE)
IPL PIC ID 78/08/12/114001
UNCORRECTED FOR CHANGING APPARENT CAMERA SEPARATION WITH AZIMUTH

The term "SPECIAL VLSTEREO" identifies the type of product. The term "L1.C1.AM.Q3+Q4" refers to the high-resolution mosaic from which the image was created. "FRONT" (or "BACK") refers to the front of the lander (or back of the lander). "LEFT EYE" (or "RIGHT EYE") tells which eye should view the image. The Image Processing Laboratory picture identifier (IPL PIC ID) is expressed as the date of creation on the computer (YY/MM/DD/HHMMSS).

There are three special transformations used in preparing these photoproducts. These are distinguished by the last phase in the descriptor. In the above example, the NODEL parameter has been used and this product is sometimes referred to by this name. The other two alternative descriptors are "APPARENT CAMERA SEPARATION = 0.0" and "APPARENT CAMERA HEIGHT 4.024, SLANT 60.0." These are illustrated in Figures 8-13.

A complete summary of the IPL PIC IO's for these photoproducts is given in Table 5.”


The above, in addition to much more, at:

ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19800023804...

What is ‘Special VLSTEREO’ you may ask:

“Special VLSTEREO

The high-resolution mosaics have been processed through VLSTEREO in various modes that emphasize or enhance certain topographic characteristics of the scene. Twenty (20) separate photoproducts (10 pairs) have been produced in this way.

Each photoproduct is labelled with a large-type descriptor in the format:

SPECIAL VLSTEREO
L1.C1.AM.Q3+Q4 (FRONT - LEFT EYE)
IPL PIC ID 78/08/12/114001
UNCORRECTED FOR CHANGING APPARENT CAMERA SEPARATION WITH AZIMUTH

The term "SPECIAL VLSTEREO" identifies the type of product. The term "L1.C1.AM.Q3+Q4" refers to the high-resolution mosaic from which the image was created. "FRONT" (or "BACK") refers to the front of the lander (or back of the lander). "LEFT EYE" (or "RIGHT EYE") tells which eye should view the image. The Image Processing Laboratory picture identifier (IPL PIC ID) is expressed as the date of creation on the computer (YY/MM/DD/HHMMSS).

There are three special transformations used in preparing these photoproducts. These are distinguished by the last phase in the descriptor. In the above example, the NODEL parameter has been used and this product is sometimes referred to by this name. The other two alternative descriptors are "APPARENT CAMERA SEPARATION = 0.0" and "APPARENT CAMERA HEIGHT 4.024, SLANT 60.0." These are illustrated in Figures 8-13.

A complete summary of the IPL PIC IO's for these photoproducts is given in Table 5.”


The above, in addition to much more, at:

ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19800023804...