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Early Spacecraft Exploration Viking

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Title: Early Spacecraft Exploration Viking


1
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • The scientific goal of the Viking missions is to
    increase our knowledge of the planet Mars with
    an emphasis on the search for extra-terrestrial
    life. The scientific questions deal with the
    atmosphere, the surface, the planetary body, and
    the question of bio-organic evolution.

Viking Press Kit, July 1975
2
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
Get down, get dirty.
Twin orbiter/lander combos
3
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • V1 devoted the first month to searching for
    landing sites for the lander V1 lander touched
    down July 20, 1976 in Chryse Planitia
  • V2 first month devoted to searching for a landing
    site V2 touched down September 3, 1976 in Utopia
    Planitia

4
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • V1 devoted the first month to searching for
    landing sites for the lander V1 lander touched
    down July 20, 1976 in Chryse Planitia
  • V2 first month devoted to searching for a landing
    site V2 touched down September 3, 1976 in Utopia
    Planitia
  • Delayed landing

5
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • V1 devoted the first month to searching for
    landing sites for the lander V1 lander touched
    down July 20, 1976 in Chryse Planitia
  • V2 first month devoted to searching for a landing
    site V2 touched down September 3, 1976 in Utopia
    Planitia
  • Delayed landing
  • Landing sites selected with Mariner 9 imagery,
    Viking orbiter cameras were higher resolution

6
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • Landing Site Locations

7
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • With landers on the ground, orbiters continued
    science mission above and acted as data relays
    for landers

8
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
Sinuous canyon in Nanedi Vallis
9
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
10
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
11
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
Viking 2 lander touched down with one pad on a
boulder tilted 8.
12
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
13
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • Notable results from Viking orbiters
  • Mapped 97 of the surface 52,000 total images
  • Definitively determined the North residual polar
    cap is water-ice, not frozen carbon dioxide
  • Stirred up a little controversy with one
    particular image

14
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
15
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • Notable results from Viking landers
  • Biology experiments provided no clear evidence
    for the presence of living organisms in soil near
    the landing sites
  • Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer found no
    evidence of organic material at either landing
    site
  • Winds blew more slowly than anticipated (200
    MPH) highest recorded wind gust was 120 km/hr
    (74 mph) and average velocities were much lower
  • Weather in the Martian midsummer was repetitious
    but was variable and more interesting in other
    seasons

16
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • Notable results from Viking landers
  • Atmospheric composition
  • CO2 95.32
  • N 2.7
  • Ar 1.6
  • O 0.13
  • CO 0.7
  • H2O (vapor) 0.03

17
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • Notable results from Viking landers
  • Atmospheric composition
  • CO2 95.32
  • N 2.7
  • Ar 1.6
  • O 0.13
  • CO 0.7
  • H2O (vapor) 0.03
  • 1963
  • 72 N2
  • 25 CO2
  • 2 Ar
  • lt 0.5 O2
  • Trace amounts of H2O

18
Early Spacecraft ExplorationViking
  • How did Viking advance scientific understanding
    of Mars?
  • Difficult for life to exist on the surface at
    present, but this does not rule out past life
  • More evidence for past habitability
  • Weather patterns
  • Though no current life, Mars is a dynamic planet
  • What technological advance(s) did Viking carry?
  • LANDER!!
  • Higher res. Cameras
  • Weather station
  • Biology experiments
  • Orbiters acted as communications relay, selective
    landing sites

19
Early Exploration
How did Viking change and/or reaffirm perceptions
of Mars?
20
History of Mars Exploration
  • Viking mission operations ended in the early
    1980s
  • Viking missions gave scientists the most complete
    picture of Mars to date

21
History of Mars Exploration
  • Attempts to explore Mars did not start up again
    until the early 1990s. Why not?
  • Why was it revived?

22
History of Mars Exploration
  • Attempts to explore Mars did not start up again
    until the early 1990s. Why not?
  • Why was it revived?

23
History of Mars Exploration
  • Attempts to explore Mars did not start up again
    until the early 1990s.
  • The first one failed.
  • The next two gave Mars a face-lift and showed a
    new way to explore.

24
Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor
25
Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor
  • Objectives
  • High resolution imaging of the surface
  • Study the topography and gravity
  • Study the role of water and dust on the surface
    and in the atmosphere
  • Study the weather and climate of Mars
  • Study the composition of the surface and
    atmosphere
  • Study the existence and evolution of the Martian
    magnetic field

26
Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor
27
Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor
Credit Malin Space Science Systems www.msss.com
Credit Malin Space Science Systems www.msss.com
28
Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor
  • Notable results from Global Surveyor
  • The northern hemisphere is probably just as
    cratered as the southern hemisphere, but the
    craters are mostly buried.
  • High-resolution imagery shows modifications to
    the surface have taken place over the past
    decade.
  • Hundreds of gullies were discovered that were
    formed from liquid water (probably), possibly in
    recent times.
  • The Thermal Emission Spectrometer found that just
    about all of the surface of Mars is covered with
    volcanic rock.
  • Magnetometer data show remnant, alternating
    magnetic fields

29
Modern ExplorationGlobal Surveyor
  • How did Global Surveyor advance scientific
    understanding of Mars?
  • Smoking gun evidence that liquid water was stable
    on the surface for long periods of time
  • Mars exhibits a global dichotomy in terms of
    topography
  • Spectral ID of the global surface composition
  • What technological advance(s) did Global Surveyor
    carry?
  • Highest-resolution camera, for the time
  • Laser altimeter
  • TES lithology, mineralogy
  • Magnetometer remnant magnetic field

30
Early Exploration
How did Mars Global Surveyor change and/or
reaffirm perceptions of Mars?
31
Modern ExplorationMars Pathfinder
32
Modern ExplorationMars Pathfinder
  • The primary mission objectives were to
    demonstrate the feasibility of low-cost landings
    on, and exploration of, the Martian surface
    (Faster, Better, Cheaper)
  • Scientific objectives included
  • atmospheric entry science
  • long-range and close-up surface imaging
  • the general objective was to characterize the
    Martian environment for further exploration

33
Modern ExplorationMars Pathfinder
  • Landed in Ares Vallis which was believed to be
    the site of an ancient flood
  • Landing site selection made using Viking orbiter
    imagery
  • First rover first to use airbags

34
Modern ExplorationMars Pathfinder
  • Landing Site Locations

35
Modern ExplorationMars Pathfinder
  • Pathfinder Landing Site

36
Modern ExplorationMars Pathfinder
  • Pathfinder Landing Site

37
Modern ExplorationMars Pathfinder
  • Notable results from Pathfinder
  • More than 16,500 images from the lander and 550
    images from the rover
  • More than 15 chemical analyses of rocks and soil
    and extensive data on winds and other weather
    factors
  • Findings from the investigations carried out by
    scientific instruments on both the lander and the
    rover suggest that Mars was at one time in its
    past warm and wet, with water existing in its
    liquid state and a thicker atmosphere

38
Modern ExplorationMars Pathfinder
  • How did Pathfinder advance scientific
    understanding of Mars?
  • Evidence on the ground for a warm, wet past
  • What technological advance(s) did Pathfinder
    carry?
  • First rover can be remotely operated
  • New landing system

39
Early Exploration
How did Mars Pathfinder change and/or reaffirm
perceptions of Mars?
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