UW Viking

1
UW Viking enabling operations 1979-1982 NASA
Deep Space Network - JPL - UW
A First for a non governmental entity
How at UW we kept VL-1 operational, Including
real time From Mars for several years
This is exclusively for the technically inclined!
It shows how we replaced functionality of NASA
JPLs two mainframes with a single super-mini
computer more cost effective and advanced than
their IBM and Univac
NASA JPL Mainframes
Tape
Modem
UW Viking Computer Facility
Intel Computer
Real time Link,1982
Modem
UW Viking Computer Facility support for Viking
Lander 1, Sols 1,000 to 2,245
2
(No Transcript)
3
Public Outreach

• Hundreds of school interactions, the permanent
  Viking View of Mars exhibit

is in its 21st year at the Smithsonian National
Air Space Museum, Washington D.C. Students
will help develop our next MetNet Live From
Mars exhibit for Air Space as Rachel did
here Air Space is the worlds most
visited Museum
4

Viking Atmospheric Pressure High School
Students contribution

UW Mission Operations Keeping VL-1 alive
Pathfinder
Lakeside high school student Charlie Strauss
wrote the original software that processed and
plotted these data, leading to my discovery of
the transient Kelvin modes And possibly how to
predict great dust storms hundreds of sols in the
future His teacher said he was one of the very
best ever. Bill Guest rewrote this enhanced
version of the plotting software
Vik Nominal
Fronts at 48 deg North during winter
July 20, 1976
Nov. 12, 1982
5
Data and Information DistributionMulti-cast
distribution and validation

• Coe Primary school
• Grades K-5
• Not operational

Unidata
Finland
http//www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/grayskies/
nw_weather.html
As in the past, Unidata provides
information distribution of all types with zero
maintenance and 100 reliability using throwaway
computers
McClure middle school Grades 6-9 U
Rotary-McClure-Weller Weather Station