SPACEPHOTOS

(02/11/1974) --- Half-Mars hangs in space 685,000 kilometers (425,000 miles) above Viking 1 as the spacecraft approaches the planet. This picture was taken at 6:40 p.m. PDT on June 16 by one of two telescope-equipped TV cameras aboard the Viking 1 Orbiter. A violet filter was used. Resolution is approximately 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) at center of disk. North is toward upper right and the south pole is in the dark to the lower left. We are looking at the morning side of the planet; that is, the planet is rotating from left to right. Toward the bottom of the image is a very bright irregular feature within a somewhat less bright circular feature. The circular feature is Hellas, a 2,000-kilometer(1,250-mile) diameter impact basin. Numerous craters are just visible within the frost-covered region. To the south of Hellas is another brighter area. This is probably an area of discontinuous frost cover around the south pole. The image is very bright toward the edge of the planet because of atmospheric scattering in the violet. Viking 1 will begin orbiting Mars on Saturday, June 19, with the landing planned for July 4. The Viking Project is managed by the NASA Langley Reseach Center, Hampton, Va