Mars image that reminded me my “Martian beginnings”

by Dr. Jozef Kozár · Published November 25, 2021 · Updated December 17, 2022

These days it has been almost 26 years since the time when I was reading one of my very first books about Astronomy and I stopped on one of the pages.

I remember this really well. There was a photo of the Martian landscape, taken by one of the Viking landers. I was much impressed by that photo – I completely understood that this is not just a desert elsewhere on Earth, but this is a country on another planet – on Mars. In the following days and weeks, I was frequently returning to this photo and still could not stop thinking about that silence and about that free and even not-touched natural environment there. Rocks and sand were never touched by any humans. These impressions were the first that “planted a seed” of a “planetary curiosity” in my head and I started to dream my first planetary dreams.

Below you can see the mentioned photo of the landscape on Mars by a Viking lander:

Today it is November 25, 2021, and I have been just looking for something in NASA’s image database. When browsing the raw and modified photos, I came to one that has been recently taken by Perseverance rover. I immediately stopped and my brain shouted – “wait, this is something that you know” … The image reminded me of the photo of the Viking probe that I saw a lot of years before. Of course, it is totally different location on Mars, but the feeling is still the same. You know, I am sure that the excitement that this planet can bring to every explorer is something that one will never forget.

Below you can see the photo that was taken by the Mars Perseverance rover recently:

And what is the name of the book where I saw that photo of the Martian landscape taken by the Viking lander? The book was written in Slovak language and published in 1987 by the Obzor Publishing House in former Czechoslovakia:

I consider this book is one of the best that I have ever read. I studied this book many times, I even cannot count how many times I have read it till today. I know, it is old, but I am sure that it still has to offer a lot of useful information and knowledge. Authors of this book: RNDr. Anton Hajduk, DrSc.; RNDr. Ján Štohl, DrSc.; Doc. RNDr. Mária Hajduková, CSc.; RNDr. Drahomír Chochol, CSc.; Doc. RNDr. Pavel Paľuš, CSc.; RNDr. Eduard Pittich, CSc.; RNDr. Vladimír Porubčan, CSc.. I am very thankful for this book and I can recommend it to you.

~Jozef