Mariner 6 and 7 Images Plotted on Global View of Mars
November 11, 2014
| Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech |
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These wide-angle images of Mars were laid in place on a globe already containing an indistinct, Earth-based view of Mars.
The Mariner 6 pictures make two horizontal rows above; the Mariner 7 pictures extend from center to bottom right and across the south polar cap.
The Visual Imaging Investigation (TV experiment) for Mariner 6 and 7 used two cameras on each spacecraft, in order to obtain both broad coverage and high resolution.
Camera A, with a wide-angle lens, showed large areas of the planet, 1000 x 1000 km and details as small as 3,000 m during near encounter. Camera B, with a telephoto lens, showed 100 x 100 km areas and details as small as 300 m.
The cameras operated alternately, with each one taking a picture every 84 seconds.
