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Mars: the Viking Discoveries 'Docusiii RESUME ED 161. 728 SEpiS194 mITHoR rrench, Bevan M., TITLE , Mars: The Viking Discoveries. - INSTITUTION Xational Aeronautics and Space Administration, iinshington, D.C. REPORT NO INASA -EP- 146 PUB. DATE Oct 77 NOTE 137p.; Not available in hard81), due to poor reproducibility of photographes AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Stock No. 033-000-00703-5; $1.50) _ EMS PRICE/ MO-$0.83 Plus Postage. HC Not Available f-rom EDRS.. DESCRIpTCRSI *Aerospace. Education; Aerospace Techn§logy; AAstrotomy; *Earth SCieficeL Geology; *Instructional 2,Materials; Physics; *Science ActivitieSi' Science Education; Science Experiments; *Space Sciences IDENTIkiERS *Mars ti ABSTRACT This book :::rt describes the results, pf NASA's VViking spacecraft on Mars. It is tended to be useful for the teacher of basic courses in earth, scie.w- space science, astronom physics, or A geology, but is also of inte :-t to the well-informed 1man. Topics include why we should ,study Mars; how the Viklpg spacec aft works, ..the winds of Mars, the chemistry of Mars, exp rimentt i ativit and the future of the Viking spacecraft. An appendix includes suggestions for further reading, classroom experiments'And activitiei, and suggested films. (BB) .*********************************************************************, keproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can-be made 4, from the original document. ************************************************** 3wk***********-***-- S. DEPARTMENT OP HEALTH. EDUCATION WELFARE HATIONALJNSTITUTE OP EDUCATION cHISDOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO. DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN. ATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STAYED DO NOT NECESSARILYREPRE SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTEOF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY I AI MI AMA -A Mars: le VikingDiscoveries .tip by Bevan M. French. Chief, Extraterrestrial MateriNrs PesearchPro ram Office of Lu and Planetary Programs Office of Sp ce Sciences, NASA ERA 46 October 1977 NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Tableof Contents TO, New Arrival5 ,,WhyrMars? 5 Viking to Seek AnsWers 6 The Viking SpaCe6raft 6 A Vikir-Eye View8 The Winds of Mars 12 The Chemistry of Mars 18 Three Chances for Life20 From Mars to Einstein22 .. What Next?, 24 Appeqdix ,Suggestions for Further Reading32 Experiments and Activities 33 Suggested Viewing 36 Cover photo: Twilight on Mars; from Viking 1 Lander, processed by compiler.* Milder front cover: Dawn on Wit; Viking 1 orbiter photo frond early- morning fog filling this network of canyons on a high Mayian plateau. For sale by the Superintendent-of Dbcuments, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington. D.C. 20402 Stock No. 033-000-00703-5 Prelate . Masrs.: The Viking Discoveries is the For assisting the author with 'helpful 17th NASA educational publication to advice, commenjs, and criticism, we outline the results oiNASA's*earch thank...thefollowing: Dr. Richard S: activities in spate Young, DireCtor, Planetary Bidlogy. and Prepared in a forMat that will be Quarantine; Office of Space Science,: useful to the teacher of basic Courses NASk, Loyal G. `Goff, Program iiiEarth science, 'Earth-space science', ScientiSt, and Wetter Jakobowski, astronomy, physics, and geology, they Manager, Viking Program, (Nide of are also written in a style that will Space Science, NASA; Dr. Harry appeal to the well- informed, Herzer, Senior Specialist, NASA intellebtually curious layman. Aerbspace Education Services Project The author, Dr. BeVanM. French, is and faculty associate, California State a geologist who has studied Moon University, Chico; .Ms. Carolyn P. rocks and ancient terrestrial meteorite Schotter. Teacher of Earth Science, craters for more than 10 years. In 1973 Falls Church High School, Fairfax he helped discover a Brazilian impact County, Virginia:. and Ms. Jeanne ctiater 2,5 miles in diameter and-15.0 He;vitt, Departrrient of Geology, The million/years old. He now manages George Washington University. For NASA's program for scientific researc0 extensive editing. and revision, we on meteorites, lunar samples, and express appreciationto Mp. Mary-Hill other kinds of extraterrestrial materials; French as Chief. EXtraterrestrialMaterials Research Program, Office of Space October 1977 Science. Fjig'program is also helping National AeronauticSend Space NASA plan ahead for the return of Admiiistration cocks from. yet another worldMars: so that scientists can find out directly c what theRed..planet is reallylike. I The New Arrival Exactly 7 years after astronauts first Co trot Center at,the,NASA Jet. and its relatio the other.worlds we landed on the. Moon, a new inhabitant Pro ulsion Laboratoryin Pasadena, know. The scoveries 'did not rule out arrived on. Mars. On July 20, 1976, a Cal fornia. When the. applause and the po--ility-that-sOme-fOrm_ol.life top-shapedobject dropped from its : co I gratulations began on Earth, Viking mi exist on the diStant planet. Mars orbit hundreds of kilometers above 1 a ready had been .studying Mars for a neither entirely dry and airless like Mars and streaked downward into the 20 minutes. Moments later, Earth's TV theMoon, nor watety and teeming with late afternoon Martian sky. About 40 sc pens` began.to show the first - life like' the Earth, What was Mars kilometers' above the' surface of the pi tures of Vikin9 l's footpad, fi y4 really like, and what could it tellus planet, the thin eirbegan.to grip and pl nted of, Mars gure 1). about the Earth and theNtOon? slow.the capsule. At an altitude of 6 Al.neW.era in oUr...,xplor ti e n of the EXploratioh of the solar system had, kilometers, a htige parachute unfiJrled, d Planet hadbeg 'earlier been established as a top a protective shell broke away, 'and the NASA goal for the Period after Apolo. metallic object inside began todrop to The, program was aimed, at abetter the ground more slowly At analtitude understanding of the sblar system's ' of 1.7 kilometers, three rocket engines origin and evolution, the origin of life, 56 fired downhard, slowing the jvl rs!has belNi in humanity's . and the planetary processes Wet. Spacecraft even more. The parachute Voughts.,since astronomy began. The affect life pn Earth. Because Mars, of- Was cut loose, and the object settled, Babylonians first began to follow the all the planets, most resembled the gently, to the proUrtd.. Therocket. motions of what to them was a Earth ang appeared the most likely to engines jmmediately shut Wandering red light in the 1ky, and harbor 'sd'rne form of life, it ]was. given. Viking 1- Lander had arrived on,Mars..., ,.they named it Nergal after their god of top priority for scientific study. With no more shock than a terfestriar,,.;.t:, war. Later, thelFlomans, honoring their Asspacecraft obserVed the planet skydiver landing in thercenter of his?:;'`f., ,own,war-god,gave the planet its(' in closer and closer detail,'We.. target.: .... preset name\ :;.. ' discovered that Mars is not uniform. Instantly the computer that had ''''.Acenturyago, as the first large , The early'flybys (Mariner 4 in 1964 guided the spacecraft. on its journeyI telescOpes were trained on Mars, and Mariners 6 and .7 in 1969) had. , 1 sent a message to Earth that said opservers saw that the planet had a. produced. photos Of a heavily cratered essentially: "I am here. I am down / reddi 'h surface, wte polar caps, an surface'that looked as dead and static safely:I am beginning my work." Earth aim() phere,"cloudS, and changing as the surface oTthe Moon. But the was more than 321 million kilometers pane ns of light and dark that might photograph and maps obtained frorn, '(200 million miles) awayand even at. be v getation on its surface, It seemed1,- Mariner 9 in 1971, as it orbited Mars the incredibly fast speeddf, light . to bel an Earthlikp planet on which life for about a. year, showed that the (300,000-kilometers per second), it coulexist, and some astronomers planet is4actually a tw&part world. was almost 20 minutes later, 5:12 claimed to see long lines of canals ,The sOutheM half of. MarsIch the A.M., PaCifiC Daylight Time, before the :Made by intelligent beings.' Fiction first Mariner sp acecraft had loed. at, Lander's Message'reached the Viking !writers, therefore, needed little seems mUctlike the surface of the encOuragement to populate Mars with Moon: ancient, inactive, and still a wide variety of creatures: '' 'heavily cratered by an intense . philosophical canal builderS,Thathery meteorite bombafdment thattrnay have , Figure 1..Mars at CloseRange. Tiny Martian pebbles appear in sharp detail in mOl i sters who invaded'Earth, and a occurred during-the planet's earliest this first picture ever taken on the surface var ety,o1 humanoids with humap traits years.. of Mars:iEven alter being transmitted for of good and evil: . 1 . The northern half of Mars is more 320 kilometers (200 Von miles), The Space Age, methddically . EaAhlike: younger appearing, - , the picture is So clear that.ttre observer removed the basis for much of this geolopically'active, and perhaps still , seems to stand on Marsteside the Viking kind of romance about Mars. No ,,.. changing. In this part of Mars the 1 Lander. One ofthekander's footpads canals could be. seen at close range, Mariner 9 pictures showed huge . (lower Wit) rests firmly on a surface made and the appearance was explained volcanoes, great fields of lava,and of fine soll'and scatte,ed rocks. Large rock as optical illusions that had affected... cracks and fractures in the crust. Mask (Opperecenter) shows triangular faces that . art ly.ast onomers. The Martian-'e: 4surPliSing and most exciting to may have been cut bywind-driven.sand. Another rock ts dptted'with atmosphere roved too thin to breathe, scientists, were.huge canyonS and aftd there vi/aVery littlewater. These. small dark.pits that Possibly.Were' form d . \ by gas escaping from once-mOlten.lava ',discoveries only iFicreas4'd our The pictiire,was taken iv/Ma camera tha curiosity about the real nature of.Mars .
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