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Mars - Surface A collection of pictures of Mars, taken by landing probes and rovers.

The first human made object, the Soviet probe Mars 3 landed on Mars on December 2, 1971, 13:52 UTC. Unfortunately, it landed during a planet wide dust storm and was operational only for 20 seconds. The artist's rendering of the landing site (including the deployment of the mini rover Prop-M is therefor only fictional and only for illustration purposes. The first successful landing took place on August 20, 1975 when NASA's Viking 1 touched down. To date, five landers and four rovers have successfully transmitted data and pictures from the Martian surface. Here are our favorites. Like our other space galleries, the pictures have not been selected because of their scientific significance but because of their esthetic value and sometimes because of their historical importance. Source: Jozef Kozar

Mars 3 was active only for 20 seconds after landing. During that time, it sent 70 lines of one image. Unfortunately, according to the Soviet Academy of Sciences, there was nothing identifiable in the photograph. It is, however, the first picture sent from the Martian surface. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Source: Wikipedia

The first clear picture of the Martian surface was taken on July 20, 1976. NASA's probes Viking 1 and Viking 2 landed on July 20 and September 3, 1976 on Chryse Planitia and Utopia Planitia, respectively. Over the course of the next six years, the landers transmitted 1,400 pictures, while the orbiters mapped the entire planet.

Artist's impression of the Viking 1 lander on Mars Source: fineartamerica.com

First clear picture of the Martian surface, July 20, 1976 Source: Wikipedia

First colored picture of the surface, July 21, 1976 Source: Wikipedia

Viking 1 landing site, July 21, 1976 Source: upi.com

Frost at the Viking 2 landing site, 1976 Source: Wikipedia

The next phase of exploration of the Matian surface began on July 4, 1997, when NASA's Mars Pathfinder probe landed in the Ares Vallis region and deployed Sojourner. The rover only operated for seven Martian days and traveled about 300 feet around the lander, but it was the first automatic rover outside the Earth/Moon system and paved the way for larger, more sophisticated rovers to follow.

Sojourner after deployment Source: Wikipedia

Sojourner taking off Source: Wikipedia

Panoramic view of the landing site with the rover's tracks and Sojourner approaching a rock named Yogi Source: sen.com

NASA's so far most successful Mars mission began on June 10, 2003 with the launch of the probe carrying rover Spirit, followed on July 7 with the launch of rover Opportunity. Spirit arrived on Mars near Gusev Crater on January 4, 2004. In the following almost six years, the rover covered a distance of 4.8 miles and transferred a total of 128,224 pictures. Opportunity landed on Mars on January 25, 2004 inside Eagle Crater. Originally designed for a 90-day mission, the Opportunity lasted over 15 earth years (eight Martian years) and was the first rover to cover a track longer than the distance of a marathon-run. It traveled 28.06 miles and returned 224,642 pictures.

One of the first images taken by Opportunity was a picture of the landing probe's heat shield and the impact site of the shield - sadly the first photographic evidence of humanity polluting another planet with space junk. Source: Wikipedia

Heat Shield Rock, the first meteorite discovered on Mars; Opportunity, January 6, 2005 Source: Wikipedia

Rover exposes silica-rich dust; Spirit, April 20, 2007 Source: Wikipedia

Martian sunset at Gusev crater Spirit, May 19, 2005. Source: Wikipedia

West Valley Panorama; Spirit, November 6-9, 2007. Source: NASA

Fram Crater; Opportunity, April 24, 2004. Source: Wikipedia

Highest resolution image ever taken on the surface of another planet: Spirit, June 1, 2004. Source: NASA

Opportunity leaving Eagle Crater and looking back at its tracks, November 15, 2005 Source: Wikipedia

On November 26, 2011, a year after contact was lost with the Spirit rover, NASA sent the next vehicle to Mars. Rover Curiosity arrived at Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. So far, the rover has traveled over 13 miles, taking soil samples and pictures along the way.

Artists impressions of the skycrane assisted landing and the rover Sources: planetary.org and livescience.com

View of Mount Sharp, September 9, 2015 Source: NASA	Patterns typical of a lake-floor sedimentary deposit, 2014 Source: astrobio.net

Mars sky at sunset, February 2013. Source: Wikipedia

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