Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: "Yes, I have been to Barsoom again ..." begins John Carter in Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1913 science fiction classic "The Gods of Mars". In Burroughs' novels describing Carter's adventures on Mars, "Barsoom" is the local inhabitants' name for the Red Planet. Long after Burroughs' stories were published, Mars continues to inspire Earthdwellers' interests and imagination. Soon it will again be invaded by spacecraft from Earth. This dramatic picture of a crescent Mars was taken by NASA's Viking 2 spacecraft as it approached Barsoom in 1976.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publications with keywords: Mars - fiction - Edgar Rice Burroughs - Viking project
Publications with words: Mars - fiction - Edgar Rice Burroughs - Viking project
See also:

• APOD: 2025 July 15 B Collapse in Hebes Chasma on Mars
• APOD: 2025 July 6 B The Spiral North Pole of Mars
• APOD: 2025 June 29 B Dark Sand Cascades on Mars
• APOD: 2025 June 22 B A Berry Bowl of Martian Spherules
• APOD: 2025 June 15 B Two Worlds One Sun
• Perseverance Selfie with Ingenuity
• Deimos Before Sunrise

All publications on this topic >>