![]() In January 1982, it was renamed the Thomas Mutch Memorial Station in honor of Thomas A. The lander continued to return daily (and then eventually weekly) weather reports as part of the Viking Monitor Mission. Viking 1’s orbiter then continued a Survey Mission from July 1979 to July 1980. While the primary mission for both Viking 1 and Viking 2 ended in November 1976, activities continued through the Extended Mission (November 1976 to May 1978) and the Continuation Mission (May 1978 to July 1979). The cumulative data from the four samples collected could have been construed as indicating the presence of life (weak positive), but the major test for organic compounds using the gas chromatograph experiment (capable of detecting organic compounds that comprised more than 10-100 parts per billion in the soil) gave negative results.ĭata showed an abundance of sulfur, certainly different from any known material found on Earth or the Moon. On July 28, 1976, the lander’s robot arm scooped up the first soil samples and deposited them into a special biological laboratory that included a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer. The seismometer on the lander was, however, inoperable. Instruments recorded temperatures ranging from minus 123 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 86 degrees Celsius) before dawn to minus 27 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 33 degrees Celsius) in the afternoon. Besides high-resolution images, the lander also took a 300-degree panorama of its surroundings that showed not only parts of the spacecraft itself but also the gently rolling plains of the environs. Once down, the spacecraft began taking high-quality photographs (in three colors) of its surroundings. It landed about 17 miles (28 kilometers) from its planned target. The lander separated from the orbiter at 08:32 UT July 20, 1976, and after a complicated atmospheric entry sequence during which the probe took air samples, Viking Lander 1 set down safely at 22.483 degrees north latitude and 47.94 degrees west longitude at 11:53:06 UT July 20, 1976. Using the new photos, scientists targeted the lander to a different site on the western slopes of Chryse Planitia (Golden Plain). The same day, when the orbiter began transmitting back photos of the primary landing site in the Chryse region, scientists discovered that the area was rougher than expected. Viking 1 was the first of a pair of complex deep space probes that were designed to reach Mars and to collect evidence on the possibility on life on Mars. 11, 1982: Lander stopped operating after getting a faulty command In Depth: Viking 7, 1980: Orbiter was shut down after running out of it ran out of attitude control propellant June 19, 1976: Spacecraft entered orbit around MarsĪug. Pressure, Temperature, and Density Sensors Weather Instrument Package (Temperature, Pressure, Wind Velocity)ģ. Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS)Ħ. Infrared Radiometer for Thermal Mapping (IRTM)Ģ. infrared Spectrometer for Water Vapor Mapping (MAWD)ģ. Imaging System (2 Vidicon Cameras) (VIS)Ģ. NASA / Langley Research Center (LaRC) / Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) ![]() The landers returned 4,500 photos of the two landing sites. In total, the two Viking orbiters returned 52,663 images of Mars and mapped about 97 percent of the surface at a resolution of 984 feet (300 meters) resolution.Both NASA Viking missions used a combination of orbiter and lander to explore Mars in unprecedented detail.The Soviet Mars 3 lander claimed a technical first with a survivable landing in 1971, but contact was lost seconds after it touched down. NASA's Viking 1 made the first truly successful landing on Mars.
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