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J. Maki (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena), D. Paige (University of California, Los Angeles), K. Herkenhoff (US Geological Survey, Flagstaff), A. Pathare (University of California, Los Angeles), P. Smith (University of Arizona, Tucson), D. Crisp (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena)
On December 3rd, 1999 the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) will touchdown onto the southern polar region of Mars. Multispectral images (primarily at wavelengths of 446, 485, 535, 603, and 672 nm) from the lander camera will be used to calculate and reproduce the true color of the Martian surface and sky. Will these images show colors similar to Viking and Pathfinder or will the images reveal a new class of previously "unseen" Martian hues in the soil and sky? Viking Orbiter and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectral radiance measurements of the polar regions give us an estimate of what we expect to measure from the surface, and atmospheric models provide us with predictions of sky brightness as a function of wavelength both spatially and temporally. The spectral data from these sources (Viking, HST, and atmospheric models) are used as input to colorimetric processing algorithms and software. The results (in the form of calibrated color prints) provide us with an accurate color estimate of what we expect to see at the MPL landing site in December.