Utopia Planitia

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Utopia Planitia

PIA00571: Ice on Mars Utopia Planitia (NASA/JPL)
Location northeast of Isidis Planitia, northwest of Aetheria
Coordinates 49.7° N, 118.0°E

Utopia Planitia (Latin: "Nowhere Plain") is the Martian region where the Viking 2 lander touched down and began exploring on September 3, 1976. It is located at the antipode of Argyre Planitia, centered at 49°42′N 118°00′E / 49.7°N 118.0°E / 49.7; 118.0.

Utopia Glacier in Antarctica is named for the region.

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[edit] References in popular culture

In the Star Trek media franchise, Utopia Planitia -- both on Mars' surface and in geosynchronous orbit above it -- is the site of a major Federation shipyard.[1] The USS Enterprise-D, USS Defiant, and USS Voyager were built there.[1]

The Flaming Lips song "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)" was released in 2002 on the album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Okuda, Michael; Denise Okuda and Debbie Mirek (1999). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-53609-5. 

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