Viking One: the Landing Site, 30 years after the landing... (3)

Caption NASA originale:"The MOC image of that location, acquired in 2003, showed additional near-field features (rocks associated with a nearby crater) that closely matched the Viking 1 images (frames 2 and 3, where "B" denotes "Volkswagen Rock"). The inset (upper right of frame 3) is an enlargement that shows the location of the Viking 1 Lander.

The MOC image of the Viking 1 Lander Site (3) was acquired during a test of the MGS Pitch and Roll Observation (PROTO) technique conducted on May 11, 2003. (Following initial tests, the "c" part of "cPROTO" was begun by adding compensation for the motion of the Planet to the technique). The PROTO or cPROTO approach allows MOC to obtain images with better than its nominal 1,5 mt (5 ft) per pixel resolution.
The image shown here (3) was map projected at 50 cm (~20") per pixel. The full 11 May 2003 image can be viewed in the MOC Gallery, it is image R05-00966.

In addition to celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first U.S. robotic Mars landing, we note that 20 July is also the 37th anniversary of the first human landing on the Moon, on 20 July 1969. There are two dates that are most sacred in the space business (three, if you count the 4 October 1957 launch of Sputnik 1). The other date is 12 April, which celebrates the 1961 launch of the first human in space, and the 1981 launch of the first space shuttle orbiter".