Viking 1
Mission type | Orbiter and lander |
---|---|
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | Orbiter: 1975-075A Lander: 1975-075C |
SATCAT no. | Orbiter: 8108 Lander: 9024 |
Website | Viking Project Information |
Mission duration | Orbiter: 1,846 days (1797 sols) Lander: 2,306 days (2,245 sols) Launch to last contact: 2,642 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | Orbiter: NASA JPL Lander: Martin Marietta |
Launch mass | 3,530 kg[a] |
Dry mass | Orbiter: 883 kg (1,947 lb) Lander: 572 kg (1,261 lb) |
Power | Orbiter: 620 W Lander: 70 W |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 21:22, August 20, 1975 (UTC) Cape Canaveral |
End of mission | |
Last contact | November 11, 1982[4] |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Areocentric |
AMT) | |
Landing site | 22°16′N 312°03′E / 22.27°N 312.05°E[2] |
Flagship → |
Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft, along with Viking 2, each consisting of an orbiter and a lander, sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program.[2] The lander touched down on Mars on July 20, 1976, the first successful Mars lander in history. Viking 1 operated on Mars for 2,307 days (over 61⁄4 years)[2] or 2245 Martian solar days, the longest Mars surface mission[2] until the record was broken by the Opportunity rover on May 19, 2010.[6]
Mission
Following launch using a
Orbiter
The instruments of the
Lander
The lander and its
The landing rockets used an 18-nozzle design to spread the hydrogen and nitrogen exhaust over a large area. NASA calculated that this approach would mean that the surface would not be heated by more than one 1 °C (1.8 °F), and that it would move no more than 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) of surface material.[11] Since most of Viking's experiments focused on the surface material a more straightforward design would not have served.[18]
The Viking 1 lander touched down in western Chryse Planitia ("Golden Plain") at 22°41′49″N 312°03′00″E / 22.697°N 312.05°E[2][11] at a reference altitude of −2.69 kilometers (−1.67 mi) relative to a reference ellipsoid with an equatorial radius of 3,397 kilometers (2,111 mi) and a flatness of 0.0105 (22.480° N, 47.967° W planetographic) at 11:53:06 UTC (16:13 local Mars time).[18] Approximately 22 kilograms (49 lb) of propellants were left at landing.[11]
Transmission of the first surface image began 25 seconds after landing and took about four minutes (see below). During these minutes the lander activated itself. It erected a high-gain antenna pointed toward Earth for direct communication and deployed a meteorology boom mounted with sensors. In the next seven minutes the second picture of the 300° panoramic scene (displayed below) was taken.[19] On the day after the landing the first colour picture of the surface of Mars (displayed below) was taken. The seismometer failed to uncage, and a sampler arm locking pin was stuck and took five days to shake out. Otherwise, all experiments functioned normally.
The lander had two means of returning data to Earth: a relay link up to the orbiter and back, and by using a direct link to Earth. The orbiter could transmit to Earth (S-band) at 2,000 to 16,000 bit/s (depending on distance between Mars and Earth), and the lander could transmit to the orbiter at 16,000 bit/s.[20] The data capacity of the relay link was about 10 times higher than the direct link.[13]
The lander had two facsimile cameras; three analyses for metabolism, growth or photosynthesis; a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer; an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer; pressure, temperature and wind velocity sensors; a three-axis seismometer; a magnet on a sampler observed by the cameras; and various engineering sensors.[13]
The Viking 1 lander was named the Thomas Mutch Memorial Station in January 1981 in honour of Thomas A. Mutch, the leader of the Viking imaging team.[21] The lander operated for 2,245 sols (about 2,306 Earth days or 6 years) until November 11, 1982 (sol 2600), when a faulty command sent by ground control resulted in loss of contact. The command was intended to uplink new battery charging software to improve the lander's deteriorating battery capacity, but it inadvertently overwrote data used by the antenna pointing software. Attempts to contact the lander during the next four months, based on the presumed antenna position, were unsuccessful.[22] In 2006, the Viking 1 lander was imaged on the Martian surface by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.[23]
Mission results
Search for life
Viking 1 carried a biology experiment whose purpose was to look for evidence of life. The
First panorama by Viking 1 lander
Viking 1 image gallery
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Launch of the Viking 1 probe (20 August 1975)
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Proof test article of the Viking Mars Lander
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First image by the Viking 1 lander from the surface of Mars, showing lander's footpad
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Viking 1 lander image of a Martian sunset over Chryse Planitia
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Trenches dug by soil sampler device
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First colour image taken by the Viking 1 lander (21 July 1976)
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Viking 1 lander site (11 February 1978)
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Dunes and large boulder. Pole in the centre is an instrument boom.
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Viking 1 Lander Camera 2 Sky at sunrise (Low Resolution Colour) Sol 379 07:50
Test of general relativity
Gravitational time dilation is a phenomenon predicted by the theory of general relativity whereby time passes more slowly in regions of lower gravitational potential. Scientists used the lander to test this hypothesis, by sending radio signals to the lander on Mars, and instructing the lander to send back signals, in cases which sometimes included the signal passing close to the Sun. Scientists found that the observed Shapiro delays of the signals matched the predictions of general relativity.[31]
Orbiter shots
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Olympus Mons
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Morning Clouds on Mars (taken in 1976)
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Streamlined islands in Lunae Palus quadrangle
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Tear-drop shaped islands at Oxia Palus quadrangle
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Scour patterns located in Lunae Palus quadrangle
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Lunae Palus quadrangle was eroded by large amounts of liquid water.
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Phobos, a mosaic of images taken in 1978
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Mosaic of eight images showingCobrescrater
Lander location
See also
- Exploration of Mars
- List of missions to Mars
- List of Mars orbiters
- Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes
Notes
References
- National Space Science Data Center.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Williams, David R. Dr. (December 18, 2006). "Viking Mission to Mars". NASA. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
- ^ "Viking 1". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). NASA. October 19, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ^ Shea, Garrett (September 20, 2018). "Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration". NASA.
- ^ Nelson, Jon. "Viking 1". NASA. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Mars Exploration Rover". mars.nasa.gov.
- ^ Loff, Sarah (August 20, 2015). "20 August 1975, Launch of Viking 1". NASA. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 9781438110189.
- ^ ISBN 9780743226011.
- ISBN 9781139560252.
- ^ National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- ^ "Chronology of Mars Exploration". history.nasa.gov. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- ^ PMID 17747776.
- ^ "Viking 1 Orbiter Mission Profile". University of Texas. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ISSN 0162-3192.
- ISBN 9780387739830.
- ^ Jefferson, David C; Demcak, Stuart W; Esposito, Pasquale B; Kruizinga, Gerhard L (August 10–13, 2009). An Investigation of the Orbital Status of Viking-1 (PDF). AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2017.
- ^ a b "Viking 1 Lander Mission Profile". University of Texas. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- S2CID 42661323.
- ^ "Viking Mission to Mars JPL" (PDF).
- ^ "NASA – NSSDCA – Spacecraft – Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ D. J. Mudgway (1983). Telecommunications and Data Acquisition Systems Support for the Viking 1975 Mission to Mars (PDF) (Report). NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
- ^ NASA Mars Orbiter Photographs Spirit and Vikings on the Ground (Report). NASA. 2006. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
- ^ "Life on Mars". www.msss.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014.
- ^ Viking Data May Hide New Evidence For Life. Barry E. DiGregorio, July 16, 2000.
- ^ Viking 2 Likely Came Close to Finding H2O. Archived September 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Irene Klotz, Discovery News, September 28, 2009.
- .
- ^ Friedmann, E. 1982. Endolithic Microorganisms in the Antarctic Cold Desert. Science: 215. 1045–1052.
- ^ Hartmann, W. 2003. A Traveler's Guide to Mars. Workman Publishing. NY NY.
- ^ Alien Rumors Quelled as NASA Announces Phoenix Perchlorate Discovery. Archived September 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine A.J.S. Rayl, August 6, 2008.
- doi:10.1086/183144.