Post #3971838 · Elektrine

2026-07-20 22:51 UTC

The first color image from the surface of Mars was released a day later, July 21, 1976. It was *not* the one that NASA shows you today! Viking scientists were so surprised by the orange skies that they initially shifted the color calibration to make Mars look more Earthlike, before releasing a corrected version 5 days later. https://solarviews.com/history/SP-4212/ch11-4.html #science #nature #art

Replies (5)

@DrOinOR@mastodon.social 2026-07-20 23:00

@coreyspowell@mastodon.social I was just a little kid when that happened, and it was world-shattering news. A view from another planet, what? What a great time to be a curious kid with a mind like a sponge. Too bad no one likes science and space exploration anymore. It's not a political football like in the 60s and early 70s, and it can't compete with TikTok and Instagram, so SNOOZERS!

Open ##3986516
@ahimsa_pdx@disabled.social 2026-07-20 23:07

@coreyspowell@mastodon.social I remember sitting in front of the TV watching the news reports about this.

Open ##3986517
@megatronicthronbanks@mastodon.social 2026-07-20 23:10

@coreyspowell@mastodon.social I vividly remember the very British announcer (It was probably Horizon or something like that), saying "... and Mars turned even Redder!"

Open ##3986518
@megatronicthronbanks@mastodon.social 2026-07-20 23:10

@coreyspowell@mastodon.social Half a century. Half, a century. :blobcat:

Open ##3986520
@megatronicthronbanks@mastodon.social 2026-07-20 23:11

@coreyspowell@mastodon.social In primary school I obsessively drew these Martian horizon scapes, with a tiny Viking lander in the middle.

Open ##3986521