Physics
Scientific paper
Aug 1976
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1976sci...193..812t&link_type=abstract
Science, vol. 193, Aug. 27, 1976, p. 812-815.
Physics
5
Landing Sites, Mars Landing, Mars Surface, Radar Data, Surface Properties, Viking Lander 1, Lunar Soil, Optical Properties, Reflectance, Signal To Noise Ratios, Surface Roughness
Scientific paper
Radar observations of Mars at centimeter wavelengths in May, June, and July 1976 provided estimates of surface roughness and reflectivity in three potential landing areas for Viking 1. Surface roughness is characterized by the distribution of surface landing slopes or tilts on lateral scales of the order of 1 to 10 meters; measurements of surface reflectivity are indicators of bulk surface density in the uppermost few centimeters. By these measures, the landing site at 47.5 deg W, 22.4 deg N is rougher than the Martian average, although it may be near the average for elevations accessible to Viking, and is estimated to be near the Mars average in reflectivity. The site at the center of Chryse Planitia, 43.5 deg W, 23.4 deg N, may be an area of anomalous radar characteristics, indicative of extreme, small-scale roughness, very low surface density, or a combination of these two characteristics. Observations of the original Chryse site at 34 deg W, 19.5 deg N indicate that that area is at least twice as rough as the Mars average.
Campbell Don B.
Downs George S.
Green Richard
Moore H. Jr. J.
Tyler Leonard G.
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