This ITEK Corporation camera for the Viking Mars Lander Camera was a flight-qualified backup unit. Each Viking lander used two identical cameras during their landings in 1976 to image the surface of the red planet. Each camera was capable of resolving high and low resolution images in black and white and color by scanning the area with mirrors and photodetectors. The cameras did not use conventional film, and instead scanned the surface in vertical segments. They were mounted on the Lander such that they would be 1.3 meters above the surface of Mars, and 0.8 meters from each other to achieve stereoscopic images. Cameras like this produced the first detailed images of the Martian surface.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center transferred this artifact to the Museum in 2004.
Display Status
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
EQUIPMENT-Photographic
Manufacturer
ITEK Corporation
Dimensions
60.96 x 40.64cm (2ft x 1ft 4in.) (Approximate)
Materials
Steel, Aluminum, Teflon, Rubber, Plastic
Inventory Number
A20050005000
Credit Line
Transferred from NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center.
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
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