VIKING 1: FIRST COLOR PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON MARS

Item Details

NASA / JPL, 1976

1st ed, Near Fine

VIKING 1: FIRST COLOR PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON MARS, inscribed by Ray Bradbury.

Vintage chromogenic print on resin-coated Kodak paper, July 21, 1976, 8-1/8”x7-1/8” [33x28.5mm]  NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory image ID: Viking P-17164; watermark on verso "This Paper Manufactured by Kodak"

The first color photograph taken on the surface of Mars, July 21, 1976--the day following Viking 1's successful landing on the planet. A very special association copy.  Ray Bradbury, author or ‘The Martian Chronicles”, was one of the Jet Propulsion Lab’s special guests for the landing and he was given a copy of the photo, which he then mounted on tagboard and inscribed “My Country (with an arrow pointing over the horizon) /s Ray Bradbury.”  Provenance: later gifted by Bradbury to Keith Burns, who was also at JPL for both the Viking 1 and 2 landings. Keith is now a partner in Armadillo & Dicker, but at the time was both a space-junkie and news editor for KNBC Los Angeles.

Bradbury signed books are widely available in a wide range of prices – and the photograph itself sells occasionally at auction in prices ranging from $600 to $15,000 depending upon condition and provenance. 

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/search/?keyword=mars%20viking%20first%20photo&sort=-relevance&status=archive

But this one is unique -- a precious witness to Bradbury’s connections to both the red planet and the Viking program it is an especially desirable and singular artifact for collectors of space memorabilia. 

Viking 1 landed in Chryse Planitia—Greek for “Golden Plain”—a broad, flat region near the Martian equator. The local time on Mars is approximately noon. The view is southeast from the Viking. Orange-red surface materials cover most of the surface. The sky has a reddish cast, probably due to scattering and reflection from reddish sediment suspended in the lower atmosphere.

CONDITION: Near Fine; mounted on 10-3/4x8-3/4” orange tagboard, lightly faded.  A corner of the photo has been gently lifted to verify that the Kodak watermark, denoting original JPL photographs, is present.  The original mimeographed press info sheet is not present; the one shown here is a facsimile from the NASA website.

NASA Description: "The local time on Mars is approximately noon. The view is southeast from the Viking. Orange-red surface materials cover most of the surface, apparently forming a thin veneer over darker bedrock exposed in patches, as in the lower right. The reddish surface materials may be limonite (hydrated ferric oxide). Such weathering products form on Earth in the presence of water and an oxidizing atmosphere. The sky has a reddish cast, probably due to scattering and reflection from reddish sediment suspended in the lower atmosphere. The scene was scanned three times by the spacecraft's camera number 2, through a different color filter each time. To assist in balancing the colors, a second picture was taken of z test chart mounted on the rear of the spacecraft. Color data for these patches were adjusted until the patches were an appropriate color of gray. The same calibration was then used for the entire scene."