                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2021 May 21

                               Utopia on Mars
    Image Credit: NASA, The Viking Project, M. Dale-Bannister (Washington
                                 University)

   Explanation: Expansive Utopia Planitia on Mars is strewn with rocks and
   boulders in this 1976 image. Constructed from the Viking 2 lander's
   color and black and white image data, the scene approximates the
   appearance of the high northern martian plain to the human eye. For
   scale, the prominent rounded rock near center is about 20 centimeters
   (just under 8 inches) across. Farther back on the right side of the
   frame the a dark angular boulder spans about 1.5 meters (5 feet). Also
   in view are two trenches dug by the lander's sampler arm, the ejected
   protective shroud that covered the soil collector head, and one of the
   lander's dust covered footpads at the lower right. On May 14, China's
   Zhurong Mars rover successfully touchdown on Mars and has returned the
   first images of` its landing site in Utopia Planitia.

                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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