Fast Facts
Viking Lander 2 took a high-resolution colour photo of the surface of Mars on May 18, 1979, at its Utopia Planitia landing site. The photo shows a thin coating of water ice on the rocks and soil.
Scientists believe that dust particles in the atmosphere pick up bits of solid water and carbon dioxide, which freeze and adhere to the particles, causing them to sink.
The surface then evaporates the carbon dioxide, leaving behind water and dust. The ice in the picture is extremely thin, perhaps no more than one-thousandth of an inch thick.
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