observations
Viking Lander
What do you notice?
Why do you think this tool is this way?
What was this tool designed for?
Add notes to your initial observations using the information and images below. What celestial body was this tool used to explore?
SNC Meteorite
This specimen is a meteorite from Mars! Called a SNC meteorite, its origins were verified through comparison to samples taken from Mars taken by a tool like the one featured above.
This orbiter accompanied the tool featured above on its mission, returning thousands of photographs of the Martian surface.
studying the universe
Landers, such as the Viking Lander featured at the top of the page, give information about a celestial body's surface that can be learned at surface level. The Viking Landers were the first tools used to study Mars for an extended period of time. Mars, at around 142 million miles away from the Sun, is the fourth planet in our Solar System.
How long did the Viking landers operate on Mars?
There were two Viking Landers that gathered information on Mars for 4 years and 6 years. The Viking mission was three-fold:
Obtain high resolution images of the Martian surface.
Characterize the structure and composition of the Martian atmosphere and surface.
Search for evidence of life.
How have landers been a design challenge?
There are some challenges that the Viking landers had due to their design- for example they are stationary and can't move, didn't have that many tools, and had a low battery life. Engineers improved on the Viking design over time to make today's landers and rovers.
What were some of the instruments on the Viking Landers and what were their purposes?
Imaging system - view the scene surrounding the lander, the surface sampler and other parts of the lander, the sun, Deimos, and Phobos to provide data for operational purposes and for geological and meteorological investigations
Gas chromatograph mass spectrometer - search for chemical compounds in the upper surface layer of Mars and measured atmospheric composition near the surface
Seismometer - determine the level of seismic activity on Mars and its internal structure
X-ray fluorescence spectrometer - detect X rays emitted from samples of Martian surface materials irradiated by X rays from radioisotope sources (iron-55 and cadmium-109) -yielded surface composition data
Biological laboratory - search for the presence of Martian organisms by looking for metabolic products
Weather instrument package - analyze the meteorological environment near the planetary surface and obtained information about motion systems of various scales. The atmospheric parameters determined were pressure, temperature, wind speed, and wind direction
Remote sampler arm - a collector head, temperature sensor, and magnet on the end
Is there life on Mars?
"Life as we know it with its humanity is more unique than many have thought."
-President Lyndon B. Johnson, "Remarks Upon Viewing New Mariner 4 Pictures from Mars," July 29, 1965
The possibility of life on Mars has held people's fascination for a long time. The Martian missions, starting with the Mariner voyages, continued to seek answers to the question of whether or not there was life on Mars. The Viking mission in 1975 sought to help answer this question by performing experiments searching for life. No clear evidence was found to support the idea of past or present life on Mars. After Viking, NASA did not return to Mars for two decades.
The Viking landers didn't just search for evidence of life- they also provided information on the weather and geography of the planet. The image pictured below is one of those taken through the Viking mission.
